The Drum 30 under 30 #8: Heather Swales, senior digital planner, Stein IAS

The Drum 30 under 30 women in digital 2013 highlights the top 30 women under the age of 30 making an impact in digital. Here, The Drum catches up with Heather Swales, senior digital planner, Stein IAS.

The Drum 30 under 30 women in digital is an annual platform recognising the next generation of digital talent. Over the course of 30 days we will be running interviews with each of the women profiled, to give more insight into their careers so far, professional achievements, and what they see as the next big game changers in digital. Today's profiled individual is Heather Swales, senior digital planner, Stein IAS What is your biggest professional achievement so far?I would say my biggest professional achievement has been the speedy transition I made from a role in production to my current role in digital planning. Making a success of this switch led to me being awarded The Drum’s ‘Rising Star of the Year’ award earlier this year, which was a fantastic surprise. What is the biggest challenge you've overcome in your career? I changed roles very quickly and it was a real baptism of fire. In my first week (and weekend) I developed a multi-million pound media schedule for our biggest client, and for the first few months I juggled my old job alongside the new role, whilst also organising our agency music festival. What's the next game changer in digital? In B2B, marketing automation and revenue performance management is the big thing at the moment. For many B2B brands, being able to implement and manage this effectively is going to be a huge game changer. What would you like to be remembered for? I’d like to be remembered for being a talented digital strategist, but also as someone that my colleagues really enjoyed working with. Who inspires you most professionally or personally?Marc Keating, digital director at Stein IAS inspires me from a professional standpoint. He’s a great strategic thinker, and very creative. But like me, he didn’t quite come from a traditional marketing background - he started out running a Haçienda party bus in Manchester in the early 90s. What would you be doing if you weren't doing this? Something creative, probably. I have a photography degree, and still enjoy photography as a hobby. I considered pursuing a career teaching photography in a therapeutic capacity, after volunteering in this field with adults suffering from mental health problems. Otherwise, I’d be working in Paperchase (purely for the discount). How do you relax? I try to keep work and home as separate as I can, but it's not always easy when you work in digital - I'm completely addicted to technology! But otherwise, I enjoy playing netball, going for walks around Ramsbottom where I live, and catching up with friends. Describe your career to date in five words.Surprising; varied; challenging; constantly evolvingThis series will run for the duration of October. Yesterday's featured individual was Laura Dinneen, head of strategy, Bloom Worldwide.