Zane Goold.
Zane Goold, Director Business Development, The Trade Desk.
I joined the IAB Australia Mentor Program as a mentee in 2019 at a point in my career when I felt completely out of my depth. My manager at the time had moved on, and suddenly I found myself responsible for running a market and leading a team. On paper, it sounded exciting. In reality, I felt exposed. I wanted to be a good people manager, but the truth was I didn’t know what I was doing. I now responsible for people’s development, the performance of a market, and the culture of a team, and my confidence was being chipped away on several fronts.
Running a market is challenging enough, but leading people is another level entirely. I felt enormous pressure and genuinely worried that I was letting the team down. I had also been trying to take the next step in my career, interviewing for roles in the ad tech space, but I hadn’t been successful. Each rejection cut a little deeper, and I found it difficult to articulate the value I brought to a business. My confidence was shot, and that’s what pushed me to look for help. The IAB Australia Mentor Program felt like the lifeline I needed.
At the time, I had my philosophies of leadership and what I believed a strong leader should bring to a team. I knew that teams need clarity, direction, and a strategic vision they can rally behind. I believed in the importance of being able to sell that vision and execute against it. I also understood that strong leadership requires a balance between empathy and accountability. Yet knowing those principles in theory and being able to execute them were two very different things.
I often felt vulnerable and exposed trying to navigate that balance. I didn’t always know when to lean into empathy and when to step into firmness and apply pressure. I knew what I wanted my leadership to look like, but I lacked the frameworks and confidence to deliver it consistently.
I still remember walking into the first mentoring session and being paired with Vikki Pearce. At the time, she was at Amazon and had a reputation for being a strong, thoughtful, and highly capable leader. From the moment we met, she made me feel at ease. She quickly helped me recognise the strengths I wasn’t giving myself credit for, and she taught me how to structure my thinking in a way that brought clarity rather than pressure. She showed me how to translate my leadership philosophies into predictable, repeatable behaviours that my team could rely on, giving me structure where I previously felt unsure.
One of the biggest lessons Vikki instilled in me was the importance of process. Not for the sake of bureaucracy, but for the sake of consistency. She showed me that when you lead people, the most important thing you can offer them is predictability. Clear goals, clear communication, and clear frameworks make people feel safe, and safe teams perform better. With her guidance, I learned how to articulate my value, tell my story confidently and set goals that were meaningful and achievable.
The mentoring program helped me gain confidence in my leadership abilities that I had been struggling to find and in time it also helped me progress into the next phase of my career.
In a full circle moment, I’ve now had the privilege of returning to the IAB Program as a mentor and have the chance to give back to someone navigating their own path. This year I was paired with Jack. Together, we set a short-term goal for him to achieve by the end of the year, focusing on how he could progress within his business and build on his strengths. Hearing recently that he has been given a new opportunity within his company has been incredibly rewarding. Seeing someone reach that moment of growth is a reminder of just how powerful mentorship can be.
I feel both grateful and fortunate to have been part of the IAB Mentor Program in both capacities, and I genuinely believe it plays a critical role in shaping confident, capable leaders across our industry. I’d certainly recommend it to both potential mentees and mentors. It’s a great industry initiative.
Applications will shortly open for the 2026 IAB Australia Mentor Program. Anyone with less than ten years of experience in the digital advertising industry with a desire to further their career should consider applying before 23rd January 2026.