Ailsa Buckley

Managing Director

Ailsa is the sea that lifts all boats. Inspired by her then-unconventional route into advertising being a school leaver and having her own mentor propelling her forward is what’s spurned her passion in mentoring. She has been mentoring people since 2018.

Ailsa’s credited as a champion behind numerous Havas learning & development programmes, including Hyper Island MBA programme launched in September 2022, our Femmes Forward career accelerator programme and our six-month Future Minds leadership programme through coaching specialists PUSH. In 2023, Ailsa has designed Havas Media’s Client Leadership Excellence Programme for all senior leadership, testament to her belief in CPD. Ailsa is also a mentor available to the wider industry through her role on the IPA’s Client Relationship Group. She has built an environment that encourages and supports mentoring in and outside of Havas. These conditions have allowed the likes of business director Emma Castledine (Campaign ‘Faces to Watch’) and Layla Malki (The Media Leader's Future 100) to thrive in 2023 and led Sarah Baker to set up a 4-month mentoring programme for 25 unemployed or underemployed women through charity, You Make It. Meanwhile, Sarah, Lucy, Jo, Julia, Abi and Rob have all been either promoted into new roles, expanded their skillsets through L&D programmes or moved into new areas of the business. This is a submission led, supported and contributed to by a handful of Ailsa’s mentees, Layla, Rob, Sarah, Lucy, Jo, Julia and Abi. This is their story.