Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) has launched its Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme in Victorian, beginning with a speed networking event in Melbourne.
The 2024/2025 programme opened in Melbourne with an event at the oOh!media offices in South Melbourne on Thursday, including a speed networking session for this year’s mentors and mentees.
The programme offers IMAA members the opportunity to be paired with some of the industry’s top leaders for mentoring and professional development.
Mentees had the opportunity to interview each of this year’s mentors in a “speed dating” environment, before selecting the top five mentors they would like to be paired with for the programme. The feedback will help guide the final pairings in Melbourne, which are set to be announced in the coming weeks.
IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, WeGrow CEO and Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme facilitator Wendy Gower and Tim Elder, oOh!media’s national head of sales – direct clients, Independent Agencies and Boutique Agencies, also spoke at the event.
This year’s Melbourne mentors include:
• Belinda Gruebner, Chief Marketing Officer at Moose Toys
• Adam Jacka, Head of Marketing at Seven-Eleven (7-11)
• Deb Trela, General Manager of Sales (Victoria) at Val Morgan
• Donna Gordon, Marketing Director at ARN
• Peter Charles, Managing Director (Victoria) & National Independent Agency Sales Director at Seven Network
• Sara Lappage, Chief Operating Officer at QMS
• Jenny La Brooy, Marketing Media Lead
• Nikki Clarkson, Chief Marketing Officer
• Marcia Allan, Executive General Manager – Marketing & Membership, Melbourne Royal
• Jodi Murray-Freedman, Director of Marketing, Bakers Delight
This year’s successful Melbourne mentees are:
• Tayla Alkilic, The Media Store
• Susan Axford, Slingshot Media
• Nicole Dipierdomenico, Half Dome
• Alex James, Assembled Media
• Ashley Grey, The Pistol
• Claire Piotrowski, Momentum Marketing
• Miya Min, Impetus
• Alana Zanardo, oOh! Media
• Georgia Maccan, Val Morgan Digital
• Lucy Piccolo, Seven Network.
The inaugural programme, which launched in August last year, matched 16 media industry leaders with up-and-coming agency talent in a six-month structured mentoring programme, including online and face-to-face sessions, training and meet-ups.
The pilot programme was a success, with all the participants describing the programme as “life-changing,” giving them new-found leadership skills and confidence.
IMAA Chair, Jacquie Alley, said: “It’s fantastic to see our Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme extend to Melbourne and to attract some of Australia’s best media and marketing industry leaders who are generously volunteering their time to help mentor our industry’s up and coming female talent.
“The programme has already been so well received again this year and we are looking forward to seeing how the mentors and mentees work together to develop our female talent.’
Mentor Marcia Allan said: “The Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme is such a clever and much-needed initiative in our industry to grow and nurture our female talent. I’m so pleased to be selected as a mentor in Melbourne this year and I’m looking forward to connecting with my mentee to share my experience and learnings from my career and to watch her grow and flourish.”
The launch of the Victorian program comes just days after it was launched in Queensland.
See also: IMAA launches inaugural Queensland 2024/25 Female Leaders of Tomorrow mentoring programme