Ten years in, and the Drinks Association Inclusive Leadership Mentoring Program remains as relevant as ever. The 2026 launch event drew a packed room of mentors, mentees and senior industry stakeholders to celebrate the significant milestone and to set the tone for another cohort ready to invest in their own leadership growth.
Julie Washington, Director at Serendis, opened the evening by acknowledging the partnership with the Drinks Association that has made the program possible.
"Thank you so much for entrusting us over the last 10 years to deliver this program," she said. "It's that partnership that has enabled us to bring so many people together."
She also reflected on how the program has grown beyond its original focus, noting that inclusive leadership is now more important than ever given the pace of change facing the industry, from shifting political and economic landscapes to the rise of AI.
The highlight of the evening was a panel discussion featuring past participants who brought the full arc of the program to life. Krystal Hart, On Trade Marketing Manager at Campari and Nancy Nikolov, National Account Manager at Sazerac, shared their experiences as mentees on the 2025 program. Lachlan Britt, Head of Supplier Partnerships at Paramount Liquor, reflected on his journey as a 2021 mentee and his return this year as a mentor. Brad Madigan, Managing Director at Brown-Forman, offered the longest view of all, having mentored on the program's very first year and again in 2025.
A recurring theme was how much more the program delivered than participants anticipated. For Nancy, who came in expecting a career-focused conversation, the experience turned out to be something more personal. "It's removing all of that noise of work," she said. "It's more about me as a person and how I can further my career, which is what I didn't expect."
Krystal described a turning point around the program's 360-degree feedback process, which reshaped how she thought about stakeholder management entirely. "When that registered, it just unlocked a lot in my new role," she said.
Lachlan spoke to the longer tail of the program's impact, the lessons that have kept compounding in the years since he participated. "I credit the program a lot to my career since then," he said. "When I walked out, my values were crystal clear." Now returning as a mentor, he was candid that the learning runs both ways. "You're never a master of leadership."
Brad, drawing on a decade of perspective, pointed to how fundamentally expectations of leaders have shifted. "It used to be about heroic leadership," he said. "Now people want to be led by someone human, who shows empathy, who provides psychological safety." His advice to the incoming cohort was direct: come prepared, ask the tough questions, and back yourself. "Someone has put you forward because they believe in your leadership potential. Use that time wisely."
Krystal closed with the line that perhaps best captured the spirit of the evening: "This program is you choosing yourself, so put the work in."