Supporting the next generation of women leaders in PR and communications

Beaumont People is proud to have partnered with GWPR Australia to support the 2026 GWPR Australia Mentoring Scholarships, which were expanded this year following strong interest from across the PR and communications industry and sponsored by Blue Chip Communication and Beaumont People.

The 2026 scholarship recipients, Anastasiia Nazarenko from Palin Communications and Sophie Budzevski from DEC PR, were selected from a highly competitive field of applicants. Their selection reflects both their leadership potential and the growing demand for structured, practical leadership development at the early to mid‑career stage.

Through the scholarship, recipients are awarded a fully funded place in our award‑winning LEAD Professional Development and Mentoring Program*. LEAD is a six‑month, program designed to build confident, capable leaders through one‑to‑one mentoring, skills and strengths coaching, masterclasses, online learning and peer connection. The program supports participants to develop self‑awareness, lead with clarity and navigate the real challenges of leadership.

We are delighted to welcome Anastasiia and Sophie into the LEAD program and to continue supporting the development of future leaders.

You can read the full coverage here:

Campaign Brief: GWPR Australia expands mentoring scholarships, names 2026 recipients
Telum Media: GWPR Australia names 2026 mentoring scholarship recipients

Discover more about LEAD here.

*Beaumont People’s LEAD program, powered by Art of Mentoring, was awarded Diamond Winner in the 2025 LEARNX Awards in the EdTech Mentoring Online category recognised for excellence in mentoring innovation.

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(By Alma Raheem) One of the things I value most about working in executive search is the chance to spend time with leaders outside of a live recruitment process. More often than not, we meet CEOs at very specific moments, whether that’s appointing a new executive, navigating a period of change, or thinking about succession. Those conversations are important, but they’re usually quite focused on a particular outcome. What we don’t always get the opportunity to do is step back and have a broader conversation about leadership itself. As part of our Leadership Conversations series, I recently sat down with Susanne Legena, CEO of Plan International Australia. Susanne is widely respected in the global social change space, with deep experience across climate justice, gender equality and international development. Alongside her CEO role, she is Chair of the Emergency Action Alliance, a Board Director at CommUnity Plus, and has recently joined the board of the Australian Conservation Foundation. I asked Susanne five questions about leadership, executive readiness and where the for-purpose sector is heading. We covered a lot of ground, from AI through to feedback, but what stayed with me most was how often the conversation came back to the same idea: leadership really starts with how you lead yourself. As we spoke, I found myself reflecting on how much of this applies more broadly, so I’ve included a few questions throughout for anyone who wants to pause and consider their own leadership along the way.