First Five Rungs farewells Chair Harriette Hanson, welcomes Jed Misa to leadership role

Comms Council Industry support group, the First Five Rungs, has announced current Chair Harriette Hanson will be stepping down to pursue a career overseas. Fuse Content and Social Media Director Jed Misa will be taking up the role as group Chair.

Hanson, formerly with J. Walter Thompson, has been with the group for nearly five years and during that time she’s led the group through many successes, most recently refreshing and updating the FFR guide book, a massive undertaking.

Marlen Smith, Industry Development Director at the Commercial Communications Council, congratulates Harriette on leading the group to new heights: “Along with a fantastic team, Harriette has helped orchestrate a number of initiatives for the FFR team notably the Leadership Development Day and the launch of ‘Yarns with…’ video series on Facebook.

“Jed will no doubt do a superb job of leading the team through its next chapter. Watch this space.”

Hanson has spearheaded a number of projects during her time as Chair, including the Leadership Development Day, support of a research project around talent retention, increasing the group presence on social media and supporting the formation of the First Five Rungs in the Capital.

Says Hanson: “The First Five Rungs is a talented group of individuals who come together as a strong team with a common goal of supporting young people in the comms industry. It’s been a privilege to lead and work alongside this group.”

Misa says he’s looking forward to leading the group through its next phase: “I’m excited to see what we can bring to the industry this year. We’ve been working through some compelling initiatives that we hope will make a positive impact on agencies around NZ.”