Austin Leake and his mentor Dick Laurie.
More than 80% of today’s media agency professionals began their careers in the Media Federation of Australia’s NGEN program – a figure that reflects the program’s extraordinary impact. As the industry’s largest career development program, NGEN focuses on building essential skills, fostering meaningful connections and equipping early-career professionals with the tools needed for long-term success.
In 2025, that commitment expanded with the launch of the NGEN Mentor Program, which paired 35 mentors and mentees to support media professionals with three to five years’ experience. The program connects rising talent with experienced industry leaders, providing structure guidance, valuable insights and the support needed to navigate career paths and accelerate growth.
Following a successful pilot, the NGEN Mentor Program will return in 2026. In this article, NGENer Austin Leake and his mentor Dick Laurie reflect on the lessons learned and benefits gained.
Mentee: Austin Leake, NITV Sales Executive, SBS
What inspired you to take part in the NGEN Mentor program?
Having become more and more comfortable with receiving constructive feedback internally, I wanted to take this unique opportunity at receiving ongoing, sustained constructive feedback from someone externally. At the time I believed that receiving feedback and coaching from someone who was not aware of my day-to-day tasks could take an objective perspective on strengths, and more importantly my areas to grow and how to amplify these opportunities to ensure that I continue to achieve the goals I set for myself.
What was your first impression of your mentor?
On a personal level, I felt as though Dick strongly aligned to my approach to work and life more broadly. For this reason, I felt a sense of ease and comfort when I first met him, which meant conversation flowed naturally.
Have you noticed any changes in your confidence, leadership skills or approach to work since joining the program?
I’ve noticed a spike in my drive to deliver my best work. I am leaning into opportunities where I can lead others more often and more confidently, which has given me an insight into what leadership styles feel authentic to me. Having led others with this developing leadership style in mind, it is becoming clearer to me about what I want to achieve with my work and how I want to achieve it.
What’s one piece of advice from your mentor that has really stuck – the kind that pops into your mind when something goes wrong?
I have learnt the importance of demonstrating conviction to your own ideas at the initial point of presenting to others. Whether that is speaking up in a meeting when something doesn’t make sense, building on an idea presented by someone else, or clearly establishing goals with my manager and leading the process to achieve them, this conviction is pushing me to take more chances and trust that the learning on the side other side of that fear will be worth it.
Mentor: Dick Laurie, Senior Strategy Director, UM
We know why mentees sign up, but the benefits for mentors can be less obvious. What inspired you to join the NGEN Mentor Program?
With what feels like a lifetime in this wonderful industry, I loved the idea of being able to give back and help where I can. I was also interested in learning from the next generation of leaders. I believe lived experience does count for a bit, and instead of locking that away, the genuine value is in sharing and exchanging ideas and ways of thinking and approaching topics that matter.
What was your first impression of your mentee?
I instantly felt like I knew Austin, even though we’d never met before nor had we heard of one another. Austin is smart, he enjoys what he’s doing, but is looking to go further over time. We just seemed to click and be able to talk easily together.
How did you approach building a productive relationship with your mentee?
We talked openly about all manner of subjects. We listened to each other, we clarified anything thatWasn’t immediately clear, and we gave feedback in the following meeting of what helped and what maybe didn’t. I’m a lived experience person, who openly (and in confidence) is willing to share situational learnings, conversation examples between leaders and peers, approaching manager reviews in a two-way discussion, understanding and appreciating the value you bring to an organisation and why that should matter to both parties and the like.
What have you learned or gained from the experience?
I would love the opportunity to keep mentoring. It’s just a brilliant thing to be able to do and I believe mentoring is a two-way thing, where both mentor and mentee receive and give.
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