Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) has launched its second Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme, which kicked off with a speed networking event in Sydney last night.
The 2024/2025 programme officially launched with an event at the oOh!media offices in North Sydney on October 30, where drinks and canapes mixed with a speed networking session for this year’s mentors and mentees.
Sydney-based mentees had the chance 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, which are set to be announced in the coming weeks.
This year’s 14 mentors and mentees also heard from IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, WeGrow CEO and Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme facilitator Wendy Gower, and oOh!media national head of sales – direct clients, independent agencies and boutique agencies, Tim Elder, who is also a 2024/2025 programme mentor.
The year’s Sydney mentors are:
• Belinda Shakespeare, Head of Marketing and Communications at the Susan McKinnon Foundation
• Natalie Harvey, CEO at Mamamia
• Sasha Mackie, Senior Director – Marketing and Communications – Studios + Networks ANZ, at Warner Bros. Discovery
• Elizabeth McIntyre, CEO at OMA
• David Pullinger, General Manager – Independent Agencies and Direct Sales at QMS
• Leanne Cartwright-Bradford, SVP and Head of APAC at Audible
• Jess Roach, Agency Development Lead at Amazon
• Tim Elder, National Head of Sales – Direct Clients, Independent Agencies and Boutique Agencies, at oOh!media
• Helen Black, Head of Connection Planning ANZ at Meta
• Jen Davidson, Managing Partner at Tumbleturn Marketing Advisory
• Jacquie Alley, COO at The Media Store and IMAA Chair
• Natasa Zunic, Head of Marketing and Customer at The GPT Group
• Julie Anne Longano, Founder & Executive Director at Peeps Consulting
• Lizzie Young, CEO at Commercial Radio and Audio.
Mentors
This year’s successful Sydney mentees are:
• Tara DeLuccia, Murmur Group
• Jesse McColl, Enigma
• Huong Ngyuen, Alchemy One
• Grace de Cruz, Orange Line
• Avika Bhardwaj, Slingshot
• April Maung, Digital Minds Group
• Anna Longson, This is Flow
• Alizee Berger, Benedictus Media
• Berlian Ayudya, Hatched
• Mairead Ryan, Yango
• Amelia Morgan, Awaken
• Sharna King, ARN
• Holly Dobson, JCDecaux
• Sarah Cowie, oOh!media
Initially designed to address the gender gap in senior positions in the media industry, IMAA CEO, Sam Buchanan, said the programme was making significant strides in future-proofing the indie media sector.
“We are excited to launch the second round of our Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme, with a fantastic line-up of Australian media industry leaders who are generously volunteering their time to help mentor our industry’s up and coming female talent,” he said.
Mentees
“We’re incredibly lucky to have such a high calibre of senior media executives bringing their expertise, skills and career learnings to this year’s programme – I am certain their insights will be invaluable to our mentees.”
The Female Leaders of Tomorrow programme is exclusively available to IMAA members and partners nationwide. It is designed for individuals who currently hold manager/director positions, with a minimum five years’ experience in any media agency discipline.