Thedrum

For Kate Hironaka, chief strategy officer of B-Reel in Los Angeles, hearing about the impact of iconic work while at the University of Oregon School of Journalism excited her about the industry. While the world went gaga over the creative commercial exploits of Apple’s “Here’s to the Crazy Ones,” created by Chiat Day, Hironaka learned about the mother of a socially awkward 10-year old who wrote Lee Clow a letter thanking him for creating something that allowed her child to see the world differently, embrace his differences and say, “I think I’m going to be OK.” In Hironaka’s eyes, this was what advertising really could be, beyond just selling a brand — and in her career, she has embraced what she learned in Eugene at Wired, Goodby Silberstein & Partners, 72andSunny and now B-Reel. Level-headed and a pointing to listening as a great strength, Hironaka believes that getting to the point of staying on an even keel takes time, repetition and that, ultimately, it can get one to realize that the pace of the bus