Victoria comes to the party with mentors leading strategy, marketing, production, tech, business, research, creative, media, and more.
With VIC now in its fourth year, we’re excited to welcome back some amazing mentors from travel and mat leave, plus a handful of new mentors who are bound to leave an impression!
Think of your mentor as someone who’s there to offer you the best advice for you. Are you a fan of their work? What shared values can you see?
Olivia Altavilla
Director at The Producers
Olivia is an Australian director living in Melbourne. She’s directed commercials for brands like Apple, Vegemite, Maltesers, Huggies and more. As a director, she embraces the natural chaos of life, creating spaces where talent can authentically live in the moment, resulting in ads that feel more like intimate documentaries than traditional commercials.
Her storytelling is deeply influenced by her multicultural heritage (Italian-Venezuelan), with a strong focus on capturing diverse, dynamic and vibrant relationships onscreen. Her short film Taboo travelled internationally to festivals, including the Vancouver International Film Festival, The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival and was short-listed at Sundance for the Horizon Award.
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Liz Archer-Fisher
Head of Operations at The Edison Agency
A trained communication designer, Liz has a multi-disciplined 14 year career honing her skills across design, sales, client management and operations within the radio, digital media, and agency landscapes. Recognised as the "go-to wizard" for turning operational chaos into streamlined symphonies, she crafts day-to-day operations with a sprinkle of creative thinking inherited from her design roots.
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Nancy Bugeja
Managing Director at HM
Nancy Bugeja is a multidisciplinary strategic designer, brand strategist and marketing professional. Director and co-owner of HM with a passion for design culture.
Nancy believes that bold creative ideas can be universal and have the power to transcend cultures, audiences and technologies. She is globally regarded and awarded for her communication design, brand strategy, intuition, creative idealisation, facilitation and leadership. Nancy is much sought after by bold businesses, industry professionals and students of design.
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Yasha Chandra
Performance Marketing Lead at BOQ Group
Over 13 years of experience in media across India, China, Vietnam and Australia gives Yasha a unique understanding of the cultural context across these nations. While people and their motivations are similar, the way of achieving it differs.
Yasha believes that the ability to harness this human capital through shared purpose is the key to sustained growth. This is what Yasha would love to continue doing - raise future leaders who are empathetic, authentic and driven.
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Danielle Chapman
Managing Partner at Ogilvy Melbourne
Danielle’s career spans more than two decades across national and multi-national advertising agencies, including CHE, Publicis Mojo, GPY&R and Y&R Adelaide. She joined Ogilvy in May 2016 as Group Account Director to lead the BMW and MINI automotive accounts.
Her client experience covers Automotive, Tourism, Financial Services, Media, Telecommunications & IT as well as some of Australia’s most loved FMCG brands such as Peters ice-creams, Cadbury, OREO, Cussons, Garnier and Freedom Foods. Danielle was promoted to Managing Partner in 2019. She is creatively driven, but also commercially minded.
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Deanne Constantine
Global Talent Partner at Blue Bateau
Deanne Constantine is the Founder of Blue Bateau, a global connections company that operates exclusively for the Creative Industry.
With 20 years’ advertising experience to her name, Deanne has led some of the world's most creative and high-profile brands, including Budweiser, Google and Lion Nathan Breweries. Deanne has spearheaded projects that have gone on to win Cannes Lions and D&AD, as well as multiple other major advertising prizes.
Deanne is also the co-creator of Smile Makers, a global vibrator brand created for women who shun sex shops. The brand has picked up numerous international accolades, including a nomination for Fast Company’s Innovation by Design in 2013. Deanne is a “Century of the Female” enthusiast who dedicates much of her time to helping young women thrive
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Rebecca den Braber
General Manager at Hatched Media
Rebecca is the General Manager of Hatched, a full-service media agency whose purpose is to be agents of positive change in the industry.
She has had an extensive 18+ year career in digital media here in Melbourne and San Francisco, working on brands like BMW, Disney, Red Bull, Victorian, and Federal Government. Rebecca thrives on leading agencies where women can grow, flourish, and achieve their full potential and ambition.
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Shyaire Ganglani
Associate Creative Director (Copywriter)
Shyaire isn’t just a writer; she’s a poet, spoken word artist, and stand-up comic. Shy’s journey in slam poetry and comedy has taken her to the stages of Dubai, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid and Melbourne. Her critically-acclaimed piece ‘In Defiance of Darls’ calling out racist and sexist cliches in advertising can be found in Mavens Mag Vol 2.
She has also featured on a few panels to champion diversity and inclusion in workplaces, including a pre-panel performance for Women of Colour Melbourne Gathering 2023 and key panelist at Mavens Magazine Launch Event. A keen activist in anti-racism, she has written for leading industry magazines and her work for climate change has been featured on the today show. Shy is working on her memoir and first poetry anthology this year.
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Olivia Gatt
Associate Creative Director at Scooter
Olivia Gatt is an award-winning creative leader and visual problem solver, specialising in creative direction, art direction, and design. With a strong creative background, Olivia creates from a base of art and design principles and a refined intuition (not just opinion). These philosophies guide and define her approach to design, advertising, and creative strategy.
Olivia’s in-depth understanding of creative principles helps deliver the best solutions and strategies to a wide range of clients, such as Amazon, NAB, Victoria State Government, and Myer. Through visual narratives, attention to detail, and her ability to bring passion and excitement to a project, Olivia is adept at actualising innovative ideas.
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Steph Graham
Co-Founder & Director of no sunday blues
Steph is the Co-Founder and Director of Creative Recruitment Agency, no sunday blues. She has a passion for people, careers and the creative industry and has worked both in and recruited for the Advertising & Marketing industry over the past 11 years.
She started her career in Agency Client Service, working with brands including McDonald’s, Hawthorn Football Club, Luna Park & Banksy, before transitioning into the world of Recruitment 8 years ago. Since then, she’s launched and run a buzzing Graduate jobs community, hosted webinars with some of Australia’s leading Advertising & Marketing talent and placed over 200 people into amazing roles.
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Prue Jones
Design and Creative Director at Fjord
Described by LBBOnline International as one of the world's foremost creative experts, Prue is a multi-disciplined design professional, speaker, panellist and local and international awards juror with 20+ years of experience in the fields of CX, digital design, experience/service design, retail, marketing, advertising and communications.
As the design and creative director at Fjord and Accenture Song in Melbourne, Prue has worked at the highest levels of the Australian creative industry.
Christopher Kam
Freelance Script Producer
Chris is a freelance script producer and creative executive with over 15 years of experience in the international film and television industry, working in both Australia and the UK. He pride himself on working collaboratively with writers, producers and all business stakeholders to develop scripted projects to take to market.
With a background in both development and production for independent and international studios, Chris has extensive expertise in corporate leadership, producing, and script editing. His passion lies in delivering distinctive, engaging content that meets the creative and commercial needs of every project.
Ella Keddie
Head of Agency Sales at Snapchat
Ella, a Senior Client Partner at Snapchat ANZ, boasts a diverse career spanning film production and media agencies. After contributing to notable films like "Oddball," she transitioned to leading social media for Coles Group before joining Meta, where she focused on digital marketing for government and finance clients.
Her passion lies in engaging Gen Z and Millennials, which led her to specialize in helping brands connect with these demographics through Snapchat. Recognized for her industry leadership, Ella heads Snap Women for APAC and received nominations for Women in Media and Media Sales Person of the Year for VIC in 2023. With a commitment to driving tangible results and bridging the gap between brands and consumers, she continues to shape the landscape of digital marketing and media.
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Jess Lilley
Founder at The Open Arms
Broadcaster, writer, ideas generator and co-founder of The Open Arms, a purpose driven creative company harnessing the twin powers of empathy and creativity to help communities thrive.
Jess's career has taken her from Melbourne to Toronto to London and back again - with a few detours in film, theatre and radio. Along the way, Jess's work has been recognised by awards shows including Cannes Lions, D&AD, and Clios.
Jess also co-hosts the Spin Cycle radio show and podcast - a weekly show about the 24-hour news media cycle. She is the co-founder of West Footscray Arts, a non-profit organisation dedicated to platforming stories and story tellers from Melbourne's Western suburbs.
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Michila Macleod
GM Partnerships at FightMND
With over two decades of experience in the media industry Michila has demonstrated her ability to lead high performing, revenue generating teams, resulting in growth and commercial success.
Michila's approach to creating lasting impact has been anchored in
authenticity and a client centric approach, with a focus on building genuine relationships to create meaningful and impactful
partnerships. Michila has worked in high pressure leadership roles across many publishers, developing strong stakeholder management skills that helped nurture relationships both internally and externally.
Michila's career has been defined by her commitment to innovation, strategic thinking and constant dedication to achieving excellence for herself, her clients and the people she leads.
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Penny McVey
Program Manager at Today
Penny has 10+ years experience delivering complex strategic, design and change projects within the impact space. Her expertise in program management, stakeholder management, project governance and team formation (including the role of lived experience in co-design teams) means she has a deep understanding of human-centred design and the application within system transformation.
Penny loves nothing more than bringing together teams to deliver exceptional outcomes within curly contexts. On time and on budget, of course.
Nomfundo Msomi
Executive Strategy Director at CHEP Network
Raised in South Africa but at home all over the world, Nomfundo is a Melbourne based brand strategist and mom of two. Her international career spans client and agency-side roles as Global Head of Brand at Etihad Airways in Abi Dhabi and strategy stints at Landor & FITCH and Isobar in Hong Kong.
Nomfundo is an alum of the WPP Fellowship, a prestigious programme that develops talent through multidisciplinary experience at WPP operating companies across the world. Her Fellowship experience took her from London to Bangalore, New York City, and Hong Kong. Nomfundo has spent the past decade in agencies driving brand strategy for clients including LVMH, Marriott International, AirAsia, Unilever, BMW, Nissan, and Mazda.
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Camey O'Keefe
Founder of Suit School + Director at Gambol Creative
“You will find the future where people are having the most fun”
Camey O’Keefe is a seriously playful brand geek. A ‘strategic suit’ known for her exceptional ability to help transform organisations into more creative and collaborative cultures. Her time in agency has fuelled a firm belief in the power of an integrated approach to brand and the magic that happens when people come together and play. She is deeply invested in the development of emerging talent and actively mentors young brand professionals to be their most playful self.
Camey is a regular panelist on the ABC’s Gruen series and an active industry champion - advising creative, media and research agencies alike. So much so she founded Suit School in 2024, training creative playmakers to lead client business. Oh and she’s a certified Exec Coach and Lego Serious Play Facilitator.
Lyndelle O'Keefe
CEO at Match & Wood
Lyndelle O’Keefe is the co-founder and CEO of Match & Wood, one of the most successful independent agencies in the country. She began her career in holdcos and worked her way up through the media ranks, began specialising in strategy, and then co-founded Match & Wood 7 years ago with no foundation clients or external investors.
Under Lyndelle’s leadership, the agency has not only thrived but earned industry recognition, securing multiple awards including the coveted title of Mumbrella’s Media Agency of the Year. Her focus on nurturing talent means the agency is not only delivering exceptional results for clients but also shaping the next generation of industry leaders.
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Jasmine Parasram
Design Superwoman | Pricing Queen
For the last 15 years, Jaz has been serving Michelin-star designs on a gold platter, solving her clients’ problems and helping them grow their businesses. She’s the graphic designer, muralist, lettering-artist, website genius, and all-round business guru who’s helped hundreds of clients achieve their business goals. While she’s still a design superwoman to her clients, Jaz is now sharing her wisdom with her fellow freelancers with another title: Your Pricing Queen.
For the last 4 years, Jaz has been mentoring her freelance students in all things pricing, giving them the tools they need to confidently calculate and charge what they’re worth, create a never-ending list of clients who happily pay up, and, ultimately, never go hungry again.
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Melissa Ray
Head of Marketing at National Gallery of Victoria
Melissa Ray is the Head of Marketing at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Australia's oldest and most visited art gallery.
With over a decade of experience in arts marketing, she leads the gallery's marketing team, focusing on social media, content marketing, digital engagement, interstate and international tourism and campaign and brand marketing. Prior to joining NGV, Melissa held marketing positions at The Australian Ballet, Orchestra Victoria, and the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). She is a passionate creator and collaborator who loves a challenge.
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Virginia Scully
Executive Leader | People and Culture Consultant
Founder of Human Kind Collective, Virginia is a people, talent, and culture expert with nearly 30 years of experience in the creative and media industry. She is a passionate advocate for gender equity and empowering women, as well as a mentally healthy change expert and mental health first aid instructor.
Virginia recently left her role as managing partner to dedicate her work to helping protect people for prosperity, a commitment to social impact beyond financial gain.
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Tiffany Simon
Client Partner
With 12 years in the PR and communications industry, Tiffany is a skilled storyteller, team leader and earned media strategist who has worked with some of the most renowned brands across the corporate and consumer sectors.
With both in-house and agency experience, her work focused on leveraging earned creative ideas to drive brand awareness and advocacy across a range of channels including social media, creative, branding, earned media, influencer engagement and events and activations.
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Jordan Smith
Group Business Director at PHD
Jordan has almost 20 years' experience in media agencies, crafting clients' audience-led media strategies, and is now a core member of PHD's leadership team. She has worked across a variety of client categories, with particular expertise in the Financial Services sector, joining PHD as Group Business Director to lead the ANZ Bank account in 2017.
She is drawn to roles that have a strong people focus, with an enthusiasm for developing emerging talent within the agency to unlock their full potential, as well as building meaningful relationships with clients and key partners. Outside of work, Jordan's passions are for Eurovision, craft beer, F1 and she's a long-suffering St Kilda supporter.
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Deborah Tran
Senior Brand Manager at M&M'S
Deb has built her marketing career selling fried chicken, beer & now chocolate! Starting her career at Ogilvy Sydney in account management working across KFC & Lion, Deb swapped the suit life for the sweet life with a move to Melbourne in 2018 when an opportunity to work on some of the world's largest confectionery brands came up at Mars Wrigley.
Today Deb has the privilege of leading M&M'S, from working with cross functional teams to commercialise a new product idea to opening Australia's first M&M'S store, Deb loves that she can show up with her creativity and can-do attitude everyday to tackle business challenges head on. A true Melbournian now, Deb lives in Fitzroy with her husband Seamus and 3 year old furball Rocket.
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Ready to become a VIC mentee?
Now you’ve read about our amazing VIC mentors, it’s time to put yourself out there and apply on Monday 31 March. You’ve got this.