40 Under 40 2025: Aidan Ryan, Dentsu Queensland

Aidan Ryan

Head of investment
Dentsu Queensland
Australia

17 years at the same company is rare in any industry, but for Aidan Ryan, the stint has been a platform for constant reinvention. Rising through the ranks at Dentsu Queensland to become head of investment, Ryan has carved out a reputation as one of the region’s most respected media leaders, adept at combining commercial acumen with genuine empathy.

Ryan has been at the heart of Dentsu Queensland’s resurgence over the past four years, working alongside Chris Ernst and Emily Cook to deliver 25% revenue growth and a 20% margin increase in 2024. The agency has not only hit record engagement scores internally but also earned national recognition as one of Australia’s most potent shops in the award circuits. And for extra bragging rights: since 2021, Dentsu Queensland’s external NPS from media partners has been posted the highest NPS of any media agency in Australia, peaking at +42 in November.

His client impact is nothing short of impressive. For over eight years, he’s steered The Lottery Corporation account across TV, radio, and OOH, and in January 2025, his negotiations helped secure a three-year contract extension that smashed auditor benchmarks and avoided a costly competitive tender, sustaining a 14-year partnership. In 2022, he helped the agency win the lucrative Tourism & Events Queensland contract for five years. 

Beyond revenue, Ryan is determined to raise the bar across the industry. He designed and rolled out the Remarkable Media Relationships training programme last year that has now been adopted nationally. He’s also shaping the outdoor advertising sector. As co-chair of the MFA’s Outdoor Futures Council, Ryan is spearheading an industry-wide OOH Foundations training programme set to launch in 2026.

A clear, engaging presenter, he’s equally admired for sharing knowledge—whether it’s pitch strategy, presentation training, or practical tools that upskill colleagues across the agency. Ryan takes openness further - in 2024, he launched an agency survey celebrating cultural and linguistic diversity and embedded those insights into new business pitches.

From negotiating multimillion-dollar deals and mentoring emerging talent through the Media Federation of Australia’s NGEN programme to leveraging media relationships to generate $6 million in charity value for Australia Zoo’s Wildlife Warriors, Ryan’s work has one constant throughline: he all for building trust, elevating standards, and leaving teams stronger than he found them.