ILF Scholars Network Bulletins

Julia Johnson
VP Marketing, Myriota
Executive Program for Growing Companies
Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2019

From the fashion runways of New York and Rome to the cosmos of satellite connectivity, Julia Johnson’s career journey is nothing short of meteoric.

“When I was 18, Adelaide was a very different place,” the now 34-year-old VP of Marketing at tech company Myriota, recalls.

“I didn’t see a future in Adelaide; we had what’s called the brain drain. And so when I turned 18, I moved to Melbourne,” Julia says.

After undertaking a Bachelor of Textile Design from RMIT, she spent two years modelling and studying in Rome and New York, immersing herself in the latest trends and cultures before returning to her hometown to lead creative direction for New World Lifestyle Group, a hospitality company with 40 restaurants and entertainment venues across Adelaide.

A pivot towards tech

It was a mentor’s influence that motivated Julia to study a Bachelor of Management (Marketing) from the University of South Australia in 2013 and return to her alma mater five years later to take on an MBA, setting her on a trajectory toward the tech industry.

After finishing her degree in record time and graduating at the top of her class, she secured a management position at Sensei, a Microsoft partner, becoming the company’s first female in a non-admin role at the age of 25.

Fast forward to today and Julia is the marketing dynamo at Myriota, a trailblazing global telco for the Internet-of-Things (IoT), leveraging revolutionary IP to deliver field insights to underserved areas  – all from the once unlikely launchpad of Adelaide.