Abhinit is a strategy leader with 17yrs of work experience across leading advertising agencies in Singapore and India.
Currently, he is the Executive Strategy Director at TBWA\ Singapore, leading strategy for Singapore Airlines, Hilton, Mandai Wildlife Reserve. In his past stints, he has led strategy for a range of iconic brands such as Heineken, McDonald’s, Volkswagen, Skoda, Twitter, P&G (Head & Shoulders, Oral-B). Unilever (Vaseline, Comfort, Lux, Pond’s) and Johnson & Johnson (OneTouch).
Throughout his advertising career, he has won 14 effectiveness awards such as Effie (including APAC Effie GOLD & Effie India GOLD) and Strategy & Effectiveness Spikes Asia.
He consistently features in the jury panel of prestigious awards such as APAC Effie, Effie Singapore, New York Festivals AME Awards and Shorty Awards.
Abhinit also has more than 10 years of experience as a guest lecturer in reputed institutes such as Miami Ad School, NTU Wee Kim Wee School of Communication, SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Leeds University Business School and Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, teaching subjects related to marketing, branding, advertising and strategic planning.
Raju is an Integrated brand builder with years of experience in multiple categories across various regions and communication disciplines.
Before joining Tilt, Raju lead Genero Asia building the agency and a short stint at REDHILL Communication to launch Redhill Studio, an integrated creative services practice.Prior to that he was the CEO of Grey Group Indonesia. Previously he led Grey Singapore and Thailand.
Winner of The "Agency professional of the year - 2011 and "Agency Head of the year" 2014 at the Singapore Hall of fame awards show, Under Raju's leadership, Grey Group Singapore won the Creative Agency of the year at SPHINK awards 2013 and the Global Healthcare Agency of the year 2014. Agency of the year and Digital agency of the year at the Gong show Singapore in 2015. Grey Group Thailand went on to become 2015 Digital Agency of the year. Within 12 months of taking over the duties at Grey Indonesia, The agency was awarded “ Creative agency of the year (Silver) at the Campaign Asia Awards in December 2018.
Raju transformed Grey Group Singapore into the country’s fastest-growing creative outfit within a year. He boosted the agency’s profitability by leading the team to win major accounts, local and regional, such as Sentosa, Wyeth, KFC, Ministry of Manpower, Abbott Nutrition, Allianz Insurance, La Salle, British Council and Contact Singapore. He also made strategic creative hires as well as increased the local team size by five times making it one of the largest creative agencies in Singapore.
Over the last two decades, Rohit has held leadership roles with WPP agencies & Liwa. In his current role at Viola Communications, he’s leading the integrated practice. Rohit has earned several industry recognitions and is also an avid writer of opinion pieces, whitepapers, and creative reviews published by WARC, Campaign Middle East, Campaign Asia, Luxury Daily and Brandchannel.
With more than a decade in strategic marketing, Alena Astravukh is currently the Chief Marketing Officer at Elemup, an industry leader in digital solutions. Prior to joining Elemup, she held senior positions at Vention, where she orchestrated award-winning, cross-channel marketing programs spanning multiple continents. Alena’s passion for collaboration, combined with her deep understanding of analytics and creative storytelling, has made her a go-to authority for market expansions and brand-building initiatives.
Under her leadership, teams of 20+ specialists have successfully launched new platforms, captured untapped audiences, and managed multimillion-dollar budgets with precision. Whether she’s developing a strategic roadmap for a B2B player or optimizing e-commerce funnels, Alena’s commitment to producing measurable, high-impact results sets her apart in the fast-evolving digital landscape.
Martin is currently Group Planning Director / Deputy Head of Planning at Colenso BBDO in New Zealand, and a long way from home. Hailing from London, Martin previously worked at Wieden+Kennedy London and R/GA and has led work across brands such as Nike, Revolut, Spark NZ, Pedigree, Whiskas and more. He helps lead the Planning department at Colenso, with his work being been awarded at Effies, Cannes, One Show and more.
SANDIPAN BHATTACHARYYA
Chief Creative Officer, South Asia & Managing Director, India
Sandi’s been practicing advertising creativity for over 24 years now. His stints with leading networks like Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO and GREY have shaped his view of how creativity can be a business multiplier.
Under his leadership, GREY was ranked the #2 Creative Agency in India by Campaign Brief Asia – The Work, The One Club Global Rankings and among the top 4 creative agencies in India by the Cannes Global Creativity Report. He has led the agency to win multiple Lions at Cannes, including India’s first Entertainment Lion, India’s first D&AD Yellow Pencil in Design, a Grand Prix and over a dozen metals at Spikes, at One Show, Adfest and several APAC Effie and WARC wins.
His campaigns for P&G - ‘Barbershop Girls’ and ‘Man Enough’, have garnered over 110 million views globally and find mention among Gillette’s most defining work.
He’s been on the jury at Cannes Lions, The One Show, LIA, Dubai Lynx and Spikes Asia.
In 1995, Rodolfo Borrell earned a Bachelor 's Degree in Advertising at Universidad Iberoamericana in Santo Domingo. That same year he began his career as an assistant in the creative department at Pagés BBDO. In 1996 he moved to Nazca Cumbre Saatchi & Saatchi to work as Junior Art Director; seven months later he joined Young & Rubicam / Damaris as Art Director. In 1999 he returned to Pagés BBDO as Creative Director for retail accounts, where he won his first local and international awards.
In 2008, Borrell was promoted to VP Chief Creative Officer, becoming a member of the Pagés Group board of directors. Two years later he was promoted to Vice President of Pagés BBDO & Chief Creative Officer. During his time in Pagés BBDO he helped the agency become the largest in the country in Business, Creative awards and Digital capabilities.
In 2014 he joined J Walter Thompson in Bogota Colombia as Creative Vice President & Chief Creative Officer with the task of turning the agency into one of the most creative in the country. In his first year he made the agency the number one in Creative Awards (2015 to 2017). and also won Digital Agency of the year. During his time in JWT he was also part of the Global Creative Counsel. In 2018 he moved back to Pagés BBDO this time as President & Chief Creative Officer. after two years back he place the agency in the Top 100 list of the most creative and Effective agencies of the world.In 2020 he Co-founded The Table by de ferrari borrell with Mario De Ferrari and in three years was ranked the most creative agency in the country and the 14th most effective independent agency in the world by the EFFIE Index.
With over 1,000 awards in local and international advertising festivals including 28 Grand Prix’s he has been placed among the most awarded creatives in Latin America. His most important awards include festivals such as The One Show, Clio, D&AD, FIAP, New York Festival, El Ojo de Iberoamérica, El Sol, Festival of Antigua, London Festival, Caribbean Festival, Wave, Volcan, El Dorado, The Cup, EFFIE, La Vara and the Cannes Festival where he has won a total of 25 Lions.
The Won Report placed him in the top ten list of Chief Creative Officers of the world. Adlatina magazine placed Rodolfo Borrell among the top 20 creative directors of the decade. He's been President, jury member and speaker in the most important creative festivals. Borrell is part of the Miami Ads School advisory board in Punta Cana and is also a Creative Strategy Consultant for other agencies.
With 6+ years of experience in advertising and PR, Amanda Brohman is a PR Strategist at NORD DDB and works across channels and markets to develop integrated campaign strategies that tap into cultural contexts and engage target groups in new and effective ways. She also heads DDB’s department Nord ECHO: where community insights, true social and influencer marketing are used to to help break brands into pop culture and increase their relevance in a modern media landscape. She is also a recurring columnist PR expert in some of Sweden’s biggest media outlets.
Amanda earned her Bachelor’s Degree from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, NY, where she also lived and worked for several years. She is now based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Liam Brown, Group Strategy Director at McCann Worldgroup Canada, is an experienced strategic planner who has helped strategically guide some of Canada's best-known brands.
A multi-disciplinary planner with expertise in brand planning, creative strategy and communications planning, Liam has a wealth of experience across sectors, from retail to automotive to government and institutions.
A graduate of the London School of Economics, Liam also enjoys teaching scuba diving in his spare time.
Jessica Buch is Head of Strategy at GREY Germany, leading client consulting and strategic unit development. Previously, she was Strategy Director at Jung von Matt, developing award-winning campaigns and brand strategies for clients like Beiersdorf, Douglas, or Zalando. In 2024, she served on both the German Effie and global Best of the Best juries. Jessica lectures consumer psychology at Fresenius University of Applied Sciences.
Emily Canan is a creative strategist with over 15 years of experience in the B2B and CPG space, stewarding brands and steering them into the future. She brings extensive digital and social experience across Creative, Media and Content Partnerships to protect brands’ positionings and identify insightful territories for them to thrive. Her favorite work solves big business problems with a simple insight that shines through captivating creativity.
Dominican-born, New York raised; throughout his career, Anibal's influence and leadership have shaped the strategic and business vision behind some of the most influential global brands across Latin America, the United States, and the US Multicultural market.
Over the past 20-plus-years, Anibal has served in a range of strategic leadership positions at agencies including Ogilvy, Wieden + Kennedy, Droga5, 72andSunny, JOAN, FIG, and Arts & Letters Creative Co where he has been fortunate enough to lead award-winning work for top-tier brands like Old Spice, P&G, Coca-Cola, Google, Diageo, Spotify, ESPN, Heineken, Audi, Ketel One and many more. His journey has allowed him to cultivate a diverse perspective having worked in roles across multiple disciplines from media and Comms planning to business and creative strategy in a wide range of categories.
This background has given Anibal the opportunity to lead multi-disciplined teams and steer innovative go-to-market approaches by integrating cultural strategy with UX and design thinking at the service of crafting creatively effective work that solves problems for brands.
Today, as Ogilvy’s NA Chief Strategy Officer, he is in charge of leading the vision of the agency’s North American multidisciplinary team of strategists navigating the intersection between Advertising, Experience, PR, Social, and Creative strategy.
Ali is an award-winning creative strategy leader who believes in pushing boundaries. He's been named among the Top 20 Planner Worldwide by the Drum and MENA Planner of the Year by the B&W Report. He's also been featured in top publications such as Forbes, taught at Miami Ad School, and judged at top award shows like Cannes Lions, NYF, One Show, Effies and Clios. But for Ali, creativity is more than accolades—it's the last frontier where bold ideas become something that matters. Today, he's using Google AI to push those boundaries further with MENA's top brands and agencies, giving the region the unfair advantage it deserves and making sure the rest of the world has no choice but to take notice.
Cross trained marketer and currently the Chief Strategy Officer for one of the worlds largest and most innovative digital marketing agencies. Worked across both traditional agencies (Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi) that build big ideas and campaigns-through to digital agencies that create experiences in the digital space (Rokkan, Razorfish. Based in New York with global experience building marketing strategies for consumers in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Winner of over 20+ Effies across his career on iconic brands like McDonald’s, Kellogg’s Emirates Airlines, Infiniti. Judged, Cannes Lions Lynx, Effies and JayChiats. He holds an MBA from London Business School, an MSC from the London School of Economics and BA from the American University of Beirut.
César Chinchilla is Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy Honduras and a visual artist with a career rooted in blending art and advertising to craft innovative, purpose-driven campaigns. He led the creative team that won the first Cannes Lions for Honduras and played a key role in Morning After Island, the most awarded campaign in the world in 2023. His leadership and creative vision have driven work that transforms brands and creates cultural impact.
His work has been recognized at Cannes Lions, One Show, LIA Awards, D&AD, Clio, and more than 70 other international awards. He has also represented Honduras as a juror at Cannes Lions, One Show, and other top industry festivals.
With 27 years of experience in cutting-edge digital strategy, including online marketing, e-commerce management, and world-class brand campaigns, I am a strategist who strives to keep up with the changes in the world.
Having worked in China, Singapore and Korea, I have gained extensive knowledge of the global market and its rapid changes. I have experience in the 3Cs of integrated marketing: content, commerce and community. I has worked in digital platform planning for global companies such as LG Internet (Seoul), Lycos (Seoul), and MTV Asia (Singapore), and has also served as the GM of Guangzhou, China and GM of Korea at Cheil Pengtai.
Most recently, I have been driving success in the dynamic K-pop industry, which has a huge impact around the world. As EVP of SOUNDWAVE, a leading global K-pop platform, I am contributing to create a new culture for young generations around the world
Federico has more than 15 years of experience in Digital Creativity / Innovation. He has worked in agencies such as VML, Publicis, The Electric Factory, Bitso and currently, as CCO at Digitas.
He has worked for brands such as Nike, Telefónica, Netflix, Google, HBO, Bitso, Burger King, Toyota, Absolut Vodka, Chivas Regal, among others. He has been awarded at Cannes Lions, SXSW, One Show, D&AD, Clio, LIA, New York Festivals, Emmy, among others.
He has been highlighted as one of the 25 Most Inspiring and Influential Creative Directors in the World 2022
I’m a Brazilian Creative Director based in Sydney, currently shaping ideas at Ogilvy Australia. With over a decade of experience in advertising, I’ve had the privilege of working at renowned agencies such as DDB, McCann, and others in Brazil, honing my craft and passion for conceptual thinking and meticulously executed campaigns.
My work has been recognized by some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, including Cannes Lions, London International Awards, New York Festival, The Drum Awards, and The One Show, to name a few. But I believe my best project is yet to come.
Clients have said it best when they simply call Chase Cornett “a strategic force.” Beyond his love of culture and human psychology, Chase brings over 20 years of diverse strategic planning experience to his role as Chief Strategy OBicer of Havas Chicago.He’s worked on global brands across several verticals, with a special focus and passion for brands who put community, culture and entertainment at the center—including Gatorade, Coca-Cola, Intel, Jack Daniels and Sherwin-Williams.
Prior to taking the helm at Havas, Chase partnered with Coca-Cola on its global music platform, Coke Studio, iconic Coca-Cola Christmas work and most recently “Thanks for Coke-Creating.” All those eBorts contributed to Coca-Cola’s first-ever “Brand of the Year” win at Cannes Lions this year.
At Havas, Chase leads the team across a diverse portfolio of clients, including Wayfair, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Bel Cheeses, James Hardie Industries, Citigroup, and Moen Incorporated.
Neil Dawson is a renowned strategist who has over two decades of experience working with world-leading brands across the automotive, CPG, financial services, travel and hospitality industries. In 2023, he was appointed Global Chief Strategy Officer of VML to help create connected brands that drive growth by merging brand experience, customer experience and commerce. He is passionate about demonstrating the commercial and customer value of our work across the consumer experience.
Most recently Neil served as the Global Chief Strategy Officer for Wunderman Thompson and prior to that he was Chief Strategy Officer for Publicis Sapient International, where he led large-scale digital transformation projects across multiple industry sectors. His team was responsible for shaping digital products and services, new business model innovation and the digital experience ecosystem required to deliver business and consumer value. During his tenure at Publicis Sapient the company twice won Digital Innovation agency of the year for Campaign.
Earlier in his career, Neil held several strategy leadership roles at prominent creative agencies including TBWA/London, where he was both Chairman and Executive Planning Director, and led one of London’s biggest and most successful planning departments. He was also a Planning Director at Havas London and the Founder and Director of HMDG, an independent creative agency, for five years.
Neil has helped his teams rack up numerous awards for both strategy and creative effectiveness. During his time at TBWA the agency won 6 IPA Effectiveness Awards. Neil has featured 6 times as a Top 10 Account Planner in Campaign UK lists, including twice consecutively as the top planner. He has judged several industry-leading organizations including the IPA Effectiveness Awards where he served as the Convenor of Judges in 2008 and member of the jury in 2016, and he chaired the WARC Social Media Effectiveness Awards in 2015. Most recently, Neil served on the jury of the inaugural Cannes Creative Strategy Lions in 2019.
Ana Júlia is an inquisitive and dynamic young woman, born in the countryside of Brazil and raised in the UAE. She is fascinated by the intricacies of human behavior and the cultural forces that shape us
I enjoy problem-solving and brainstorming sessions and have developed chameleon-like skills for adapting to new environments and industries—ranging from F&B to airlines, entertainment brands, and even banking. I am constantly seeking fresh challenges and opportunities to hone my skills and elevate my craft in strategy.
Proven leader with nearly 25 years of agency experience, known as a brave change agent who pursues opportunity with energy and rigor, as well as a supportive coach who creates a safe and inclusive space for her team to grow. As Chief Strategy Officer at Starcom, passionately dedicated to ensuring alignment between brand and media strategies across the entire marketing ecosystem and inspiring others to re-imagine what’s possible in order to unlock new sources of growth for clients.
Chloe is a strategic leader with 15 years of experience across e-commerce, technology, FMCG, retail, and financial services, having managed brands in both agency and client-side roles across global, regional, and local markets. Her career spans influential agencies such as BBH and Wunderman, and client-side roles at Income and Lazada, Alibaba's e-commerce venture in Southeast Asia. This diverse background has equipped her with a deep understanding of branding, martech, social commerce, and culture, allowing her to design integrated solutions that align creative vision with measurable business outcomes.
Currently Client Services Director at VIRTUE, Chloe plays a pivotal role in delivering both commercial and creative successes. Trained in the performing arts, Chloe now redirects that creative energy into the persuasive craft of strategy and storytelling. A hands-on leader that balances long-term vision with day-to-day execution, her approach is rooted in a deep understanding of market forces, human behaviour and emerging technologies, positioning her as a trusted advisor and culture driver in every partnership.
Luís Figueiredo is Executive Creative Director at Publicis Brasil, with 20 years of experience in the industry. He has spent a total of 10 years as a creative leader, helping to build great teams and major national and international brands, such as Honda, Chevrolet, P&G, Carrefour, Nestlé, among others. Throughout his career, he has worked at agencies such as Ogilvy, Publicis NY, and Publicis Brasil, where he created award-winning campaigns at the top advertising festivals: Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, One Show, LIA, Effie Awards, Clio, El Ojo, among others. In 2017, he was named one of the Top 100 creatives by the international publication Creative Pool, which analyzes the most outstanding professionals in the global advertising scene.
Lance Francisco brings over a decade of experience as an art director and designer, crafting impactful campaigns driven by results. Currently based in Shanghai, he focuses on experiences and sustainability for PepsiCo. He has a track record of working with globally recognized brands such as Pepsi, Netflix, Snickers, Greenpeace, and Bose. His work has earned acclaim at prestigious international award shows, including The One Show, The Clio Awards, Fast Company World Changing Ideas, Spikes Asia, AdStars, and Effies APAC.
Having been with some of the top-tier agencies, such as Ogilvy, J. Walter Thompson, Publicis, and BBDO, Lance has honed both local and global expertise. His unique perspective and commitment to craft have led to victories representing his country in two international Cannes Young Lions creative competitions, showcasing his dedication to creative excellence. Driven by the pursuit of creativity and innovation, Lance is unwavering in his commitment to pushing boundaries, leaving a lasting impact, and inspiring global audiences.
Stephen French is Head of Strategy at Burrell Communications Group, leading the agency’s research, insights, and social strategy teams. He has been instrumental in transforming clients’ brands through deep, culturally-led insights and strategies. A creative catalyst with a strategic mind, Stephen propels brands forward by blending creativity with data-driven insights. Most recently, Stephen led the launch of Burrell’s new, one-of-a-kind proprietary segmentation tool, the Burrell Cultural Compass, which is designed from a cultural perspective for an intersectional world. Prior to his time at Burrell, Stephen worked at BBDO Retail, Toronto, Agency 57, Toronto, and The Richards Group, Dallas.
A Brazilian based in NYC with over 15 years of experience building brands in different markets and segments, Lila is passionate about the possibilities of combining culture, technology and human insights to create purposeful experiences and relevant work that generates value for both brands and people.
Currently the High Culture Strategy Lead at Jacques Madison, part of the Havas group, she has a vast agency experience working both in the US and globally, having worked at CDM, DDB, Ogilvy, Mullen Lowe, and Leo Burnett and has worked across multiple segments such as CPG, Finance, Retail and Healthcare. She was recognized as 2022 Women to Watch.
Jeffry has been in the industry for longer than he will admit. The advertising industry, however, is not shy in its admiration of his incredible portfolio of work.
Cannes Lions. Clios. One Show. Webbys. Epica Pyraminds.ADFEST Lotuses. Jeffry has won them all, not to mention three Grand Effies in row, making him the only Chief Creative Officer in Hong Kong to have done so. Adding to his extensive list of accomplishments, at the Hong Kong Kam Fan awards in 2012,
Jeffry was named Creative of the Year. Since there's always more room on the wall for more awards, Campaign magazine recognized Jeffry as one of the top five creatives in Greater China two years in a row.
So, how does Jeffry Gamble deliver such amazing creative year after year? It's simple. "The most creative work should also be the most effective work," he says.
Adhering to this belief has made Jeffry one of the most celebrated creatives in Asia. Through his leadership, skill, and who-knows-how-many years of experience, Jeffry continues to push mcgarrybowen to the forefront of our industry, both in this incredibly important emerging market and around the world, as well.
Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, but then having worked in Brazil and Spain. Juan Pablo was the responsible of the opening of DAVID Bogota in 2021. In just 3 years the agency became the most awarded in Cannes 2022, won aTitanium Lion in 2023, Top 3 Agency at Effie Awards, and have reached more than 150 awards in different festivals such us Clio, One Show, D&AD, Ojo de Iberoamerica, among many others, while becoming one the fastest start-up for DAVID and is now one of the global agencies for Corona (AbInbev), with whom they won the first Titanium Lion for China. Lastly, they became Agency of the Year at Festival el Dorado 2023, being the most awarded agency in the festival history.
In his previous role at Mullen Lowe Group, his awarded work for the Peace Process of Colombia allowed him to work with Juan Manuel Santos (Nobel Peace Prize), Pope Francis and the Uganda’s Defection Program against guerrillas. During his time, the Colombian Ministry of Defense was the most awarded brand at Cannes Lions, These experiences deserved a chapter in the best seller “Humankind: A Hopeful History” by Rutger Bregman, also in Cannes Lions Game Changers, as well as inspiration of the Netflix series“Wild District”. His last achievement is that two Cannes Lions winner campaigns are now present at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum as part of the “Designing Peace” exhibition in New York.
Along his career, he has won more than 400 awards, including Grand Prix at APG Awards, Jay Chiat for Strategic Excellence, IPA Effectiveness, Cannes Lions, London International Festival, among many others, and the only one Black Pencil of the Decade at D&AD.
His work has traveled the world and become and inspiration for many others, allowing him to be on stage at TEDx and TEDStories from the Director Flore Vasseur, Cannes Lions Innovation Forum, Taiwan Creativity Week, Boston College Latin American Business Club, Memphis in May International Festival, among many other forums.
Bastian is Chief Strategy Officer of Grabarz & Partner, Hamburg. He believes that a healthy mix of empathy, simplicity and human understanding is the most powerful basis for creating impactful ideas.
In his career he has worked for a range of international clients such as Apple, Airbnb, Burger King, IKEA, Porsche and Volkswagen, helping all of them to move people and their businesses at the same time.
Some people find their calling in unexpected places. For Ajith, it was in a zoology lab, surrounded by specimens, when he realised he wanted to write.This led him into advertising, where he's spent over 25 years learning and creating at agencies including Ogilvy Bangalore, FCB-Ulka Bangalore, DDB Oman and Wunderman Delhi. Now based in Trivandrum, he helps craft stories for tourism destinations across
India. His work has earned recognition through Epica shortlists, Agency of the Year honours at Big Bang, MADDY, FUCA and Pepper, along with IAA Olive Crown Awards and ABBYs. He serves on select jury panels including The AdForum PHNX awards, Kyoorius Creative Awards and Indian Marketing Awards South.
Beyond advertising, he shares his experience as a Board member for English Studies at Bharathidasan College, Pondicherry. When not crafting stories for brands, you might find him writing his own or planning the next motorcycle adventure.
Jean, Creative Director for the Coca-Cola Company at VML brings over 15 years of experience in advertising agencies. As an awarded creative professional, his work has been recognized at prestigious festivals such as Cannes Lions, El Ojo de Iberoamérica, the Berlin Film Festival, Effie, Mad Stars, and Clube de Criação. His projects have even been featured on the cover of Campaign magazine in the UK. In 2023, he served as a jury member for the NY Festivals and has contributed as a judge in various other industry awards throughout his career.
In 2019, Jean was selected as one of only 30 professionals under 30 worldwide to join the Cannes Lions Creative Academy, an exclusive creative training program offered by the Cannes Lions Festival.
With over 13 years of experience working with world-leading brands in Latin America and the Middle East, Mona heads the Strategy team at VML Dubai.
Prior to joining Wunderman Thompson, Mona worked at Geometry, where she focused on commerce projects across multiple industries. She was part of the team responsible for shaping the digital products and services and the digital experience ecosystem required to deliver business and consumer value. Including the development of the global e-commerce strategy for brands like Coca-Cola.
Earlier in her career, Mona spent +6 years working in creatives agencies in Lebanon and Brazil, where she started her career at prominent agencies including Isobar & Fischer America.
She has spent the last decade studying consumer behavior, designing brand positioning and building integrated campaigns for local and global clients across different categories and markets.
Mona’s work has won industry awards at different prestigious shows such as Cannes Lions Festival, Dubai Lynx, New York Festival and Effie. She has also been a member of juries for several industry-leading awards such as New York Festival, Effie, and WARC MENA Strategy. She will also be part of the jury at the 2023 Digital MENA awards.
She is currently pursuing a MSc in Behavioral Science at the London School of Economics, where she is applying behavioral science to analyze the impact of geographic conflicts in brand perception & sales through different scientific data tools and methodologies.
Florencia Herrero, creative strategist with over 14 years of expertise. Specializing in crafting immersive brand experiences and creative integrated campaigns with compelling storytelling thanks to her copywriting and digital background. After a career blending creative with strategy at agencies like Ogilvy, BBDO, La America and DAVID, she is currently working for regional innovation projects as a Creative Marketing Manager for The Walt Disney Company’s top franchises.
Sébastien Houdusse
Global Chief Strategy Officer BETC
After graduating from Science Po Paris, Sébastien began his career as a project manager at DDB, where he worked on FMCG brands such as Nestlé and Nestlé Purina Petcare among others. He then joined the New Business team to coordinate the agency's pitches.
In 2007, he decided to focus on digital strategies and joined Megalo, a French creative hot shop, where he became a digital strategy consultant for Warner Bros, Lacoste and Bulgari.
He joined BETC's Strategic Planning department in 2011, where he drew on his dual expertise in both digital and brand strategies to work on major international brands such as evian, Air France, Sephora and Lacoste.
In 2013, he created the engagement and communications planning department, and in this capacity, built communications strategies and digital thinking for all the agency's clients.
End of 2019, Sebastien has been appointed Global Chief Strategy Officer of BETC Group. He co-spearheads the Consulting and Strategic Planning practice as well as the international development of the agency and the thought Leadership (Prosumer research, X INDEX) for the Havas Group. Sébastien supervises all brand and digital strategies for the agency’s portfolio of clients. He’s also directly involved in building brand and communication strategies for Canal +, EDF, Lacoste or Sephora.
Earl is currently a Planning Director from McCann Worldgroup Philippines, helping guide some of the biggest and most well-known brands in the country. With over 17 years of work under his belt, he has stretched his strategy skills to encompass a wide array of disciplines, including brand planning, creative strategy, communications planning, digital strategy, CRM, and brand consulting.
On weekdays, he provides strategic counsel for brands across multiple categories like food, banking, healthcare, QSR, pharmaceuticals, beverages, alcohol, infant nutrition, and B2B. On weekends, you can find him hunting down live music gigs around the city, attending festivals, or experimenting in his kitchen.
Nina is Chief Strategy Officer at GGH MullenLowe Hamburg, after working ad Lowe Lintas, Jung von Matt and freelancing for all major agencies in Germany. She started her career more than 20 years ago, after studying communications sciences and advertising psychology in Munich University.
Due to being one of the oldest most experienced strategists in Germany, Nina has worked for global clients and brands like Nivea, BMW, o2, Unilever, Bayer, IKEA, etc. but also for a large number of local pearls. Nina believes in work that moves people and put brands in motion – in the heads, hearts and actions of people.
Shaziya is a brand and communications strategy specialist with significant Indian and South East Asian experience. She started her advertising career when she was a teenager, and as publicity secretary of the Social Service League she conceptualized and created its annual exhibition’s hand painted posters.
Her career spans luxury, grooming, wealth and well-being and Shaziya has worked with global brands such as De Beers, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Godrej, Zydus, Kotak and AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds of India). After almost a decade in account management, a thirst for thought leadership led her into strategic planning. She is the first Indian to win the Jay Chiat Grand Prix, APG, and IPA awards for strategy. Shaziya has also contributed to the book Luxury Market in India: Maharaja to Masses. Her professional accolades include three WPP Global Atticus Awards for ‘original thinking in marketing communication’, as well as AME and Effie awards. She has been a jury member at many prestigious national and international awards.
Shaziya has contributed pieces for business publications including Business Standard, Business World, Hindu Business Line, Financial Express, and for branding publications like Ad Map and WPP Brandz India Reports. She guest lectures at ISB, MICA, and Emerging India Camp organized by CII-JICA (Japanese Industrial Corporation Agency). She was a resident Pearson Chevening Scholar at the Stirling Media Research Institute, Scotland and at the Financial Times, London.
As someone who admires paper, color and texture, Shaziya’s other passion is to create charcoal and digital art.
Sue Kipling is a highly awarded brand and marketing professional with over 20 years of industry experience across a range of markets, including US, Canada, Europe, Africa and NZ/AU.
Sue is curious, relishes solving complex problems and challenging norms & conventions; is passionate about innovation, and is driven to create transformative strategies that grow brands.
Sue currently works as Executive Strategy Director at YoungShand - one of New Zealand’s leading independent, integrated ad agencies.
Venia Koronidi is a strategist who sees beyond the numbers—she sees the people.
As Head of Strategy at McCann Worldgroup Athens, she has built a career on uncovering human truths and turning them into creative fuel for brands. Her passion lies in decoding what truly moves people, shaping strategies that don’t just meet business objectives but spark real change.
With the ability to balance analytical rigor with emotional depth, Venia transforms data into narratives that connect, inspire, and drive impact. For her, effectiveness isn’t just about results—it’s about the moments that make people feel, think, and act differently.
It’s this philosophy that has led her to craft award-winning strategies that leave a lasting imprint on both businesses and culture.
John Lagerqvist is the Executive Creative Director and a founding partner of Nordic agency, Drama Queen Communications. An agency born at the intesection of creativity and tech, with a special passion for brand activation, and the belief that done right, business is beautiful.
Globally awarded for their work for Absolut Vodka and a number of other global clients, such as Sony, Volvo, Carlsberg, Electrolux, L’Oréal and Larsen Cognac, among others.
She’s one of Taiwan’s most awarded creative leaders and won the Best Creative Person in advertising in Taiwan in 2021. Lulu is an ad copywriter, author, a college lecturer and a wordsmith who has been in love with advertisement for over a decade. She deeply believes that “The greatest creativities are hidden in the tiny bits of everyday life”. She’s not only a judge for major domestic awards in Taiwan, but also for international awards such as MAD Stars and Young stars, Spikes Asia, Shot Awards, Ad Fest, London international Awards and Coach, ONE Asia, ADAYs Awards, IMMORTAL Awards and NEW YORK FESTIVALS, Times Awards, DAwards. On the creative side, Lulu has been awarded by the Best Slogan Award, Spikes Asia, SHIAF AWARD-WINNING WORK,TIMES AWARDS, Long Xi Awards, CLICK AWARDS, The WORK, ECI Awards, AD Stars, MCEI, 4A Creative Awards, Effie Greater China Awards, ONE Show Greater China Awards, LIA China, Times Awards, DAwards.
Modjadji Mashatola is the Head of Strategy at McCann Joburg and believes that creative problem-solving can positively affect business performance.
She began her career over a decade ago at The Jupiter Drawing Room, where she honed her skills in interdisciplinary strategy by working and learning on brands such as Burger King, Windhoek Beer, and Hyundai.
Her strategic experience spans various industries, having developed strategies for clients such as USAID, FNB, Absa, Debonairs, Coca-Cola, and Diageo brands. Revitalising Douwe Egberts in South Africa is a testament to her ability to drive brand transformation and growth.
In addition to her strategic roles, Modjadji mentors emerging talent and believes in the power of storytelling to connect brands with audiences. Modjadji was also selected to join a senior group of global strategists within the FCB Global Network to participate in an innovation incubator.
Rajesh brings in over 3 decades of diverse experience across India and Southeast Asia.
An Engineering graduate who is currently leading strategy in a specialist Healthcare agency.
An award-winning strategist whose work has been shortlisted and put up at the Cannes Also Photography Exhibition.
Currently working as Chief Strategy Officer at Medulla Communications.
Previous experience being leadership positions in Strategic Planning across JWT, FCB India and Jakarta etc.
Created award winning ideas, recognized by juries across the world.
Winning a range of awards from Effie Gold to WARC Awards (Best Brand Purpose) and Midas New York (Grand Prix) and Dragons of Asia (Best of Asia Pacific) and many more.
Consistently building strong brand properties, with disruptive campaigns across a range of clients in markets from USA to Asia Pacific and Africa.
For clients like Kellogg’s, Fonterra, Castrol, SC Johnson, Saralee, Singapore Tourism, Godrej.
As well as a range of Pharma and Healthcare clients. Like MSD, J& J, Abbott, Pfizer, AI based Physiotherapy Start up in US market etc.
Has served as a jury member across multiple effectiveness awards, across years. Like Effie (2009 -24 every year), DMA Asia ECHO Awards and Dragons of Asia awards multiple times.
As Creative Strategy Director at Paradais DDB, Maria Paula seamlessly blends creativity and strategy. Her career is marked by over 60 awards, including a Grand Effie Latam, two Grand Effies in Ecuador, and Gold at Cannes Lions’ Young Lions Worldwide. She has also been a two-time contender for Effie Worldwide’s Best of the Best and was recognized as one of the most outstanding creatives of 2024 by Adlatina (Destacados 2024).
Maria Paula had the honor of serving as Course Facilitator for the Cannes Lions Roger Hatchuel Academy and was selected for Cannes Lions’ prestigious See It Be It program at the El Dorado Festival in Colombia. Her expertise extends to jury roles, including serving on the Effie Latam and the Roger Hatchuel Academy juries.
She has proudly represented Ecuador at the Cannes Lions’ Roger Hatchuel Academy and the Mountain View Program at Google Creative Lab. Maria Paula’s work exemplifies the perfect balance of creativity and effectiveness. She is driven to prove that strategy is, at its core, a deeply creative endeavor.
Co-founder of Showpony and Executive Creative Director, Australia, Parris is an award-winning creative, ideator and changer of behaviour.
With a broad repertoire, Parris has extensive experience across alcoholic beverages, automotive, tourism, higher education and health, and has worked with iconic national and international brands including Budweiser and Bridgestone.
Determined to find the human truth behind every idea, Parris has a passion for finding the best ways to connect, engage and resonate with people, especially in the public sector. Most recently he has played a leading role in developing critical COVID-19 response campaigns for multiple branches of government.
Parris’s work has been awarded for creativity and effectiveness at major advertising shows including Cannes Lions, London International, NY Festivals, Effies and has featured in Lüzer’s Archive and Best Ads.
Currently Chief Creative Director of The Cooler @ Experian, Miller is successfully befuddling what’s expected from an in-house joint. He led The Cooler's creation of award-winning creative across an ever-increasing list of channels. Work that includes a whole bunch of spots putting John Cena atop a Purple Cow, as well as their latest with Travis Kelce. Before The Cooler, he’d been an ECD at TBWA and JWT agencies, a Junior Janitor cleaning toilets at D’Arcy (saving his nights for non-paying gigs at CBGBs and spinning actual vinyl on NYC radio), and nearly every role in between. Armed with a few vaguely relevant degrees from NYU for Political Theory, Religious Studies, and the Tisch School for Film, he got to lead dozens of national brands, including Land Rover, Michelin, Sports Authority, Ketel One, Lexus and Honda. Miller has spent 25+ years in this biz creating pant-loads of award-winning work at shops such as RPA, FCB/SF, DDB, Team One, Y&R, Team Detroit, Innocean, Garage, Saatchi and M&C. Additionally, when not being a personal chauffeur and/or an endless ATM for his terrific twins, this SoCal based native New Yorker tries and fails daily at surfing.
Andreas helps brands and business get future-ready. A seasoned brand and marketing strategist with over 30 years experience in transformative roles from strategic planner to Chief Experience Officer at network agencies (Publicis, BBDO, DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi) and digital agencies (SapientNitro, Isobar) in Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Andreas’ focus lies in connecting brand and marketing thinking with digital understanding to help brands and businesses succeed. His work has been recognized at global, European, and local effectiveness awards, as well as Cannes. He also has served as a judge in a variety of Effectiveness competitions across the globe.
Today, Andreas provides his experience as an independent brand and marketing consultant across APAC.
2025 AME Grand Jury member Nadine Müller-Eckel is the Chief Strategy Officer and Partner at Anomaly Berlin. With over 15 years of experience at leading German agencies such as Jung von Matt and Heimat, as well as global networks like R/GA and TBWA, Nadine has built a distinguished career in strategy, seamlessly blending creativity and business. She also served as CMO for the DTC start-up Sitzfeldt, further honing her expertise in driving brand growth and effectiveness.
Nadine is passionate about brand strategy, cultural impact, delivering measurable results as well as Emerging Technology. With experience across diverse industries, she has worked with global brands including Google, Nikon, E.ON, Zalando, Spotify, Ferrero, and major automotive players.
As an advocate for DE&I and the future of talent in the creative industry, Anomaly Berlin stands as one of the market's outspoken voices championing these topics. Nadine is also an active member of the German GWA Effie and Diversity Board, where she remains dedicated to shaping the industry's approach to creative effectiveness, belonging, equity, and inclusion."
25+ years of experience in brand strategy for major industries (food, drinks, automotive, fashion, energy, finance, entertainment, retail, sports, politics..) both on multinational communication agencies and brand consultancy side. Planning Director for DDB and Publicis Italia, then founder of Q invent and currently CSO and Partner of Leagas Delaney Milan.
Master Degreee in Marketing and Communication (Publitalia ’80).
Specialist in brand and communication strategy for global and local brands.
Solid experience as an executive in managing and directing international projects/clients/teamworks, team building, nurturing new talent, developing corporate culture.
Professional bias towards people and culture, change understanding and innovation.
Rasika is a seasoned marketing and growth executive with over 20 years of experience crafting and executing transformative integrated marketing programs for companies during pivotal moments of evolution—ranging from strategic pivots, rebranding, spin-offs, IPOs to digital transformations.
She is passionate about driving measurable business impact at the intersection of creativity and technology, helping organizations unlock new value through innovative digital solutions and compelling brand experiences.
Her diverse background encompasses a wealth of marketing expertise garnered from both agency and in-house environments, spanning technology, financial services, consumer packaged goods and health and wellness sectors. Rasika has masterfully orchestrated award-winning brand building and digital initiatives for global brands such as Lenovo, Amazon, SAP, IBM, Philips, L'Oréal, and DuPont.
Currently, Rasika leads Strategic Growth for Valtech, a global creative, marketing and digital transformation company. Prior to joining Valtech, she served as Chief Growth Officer at StrawberryFrog, a global creative consultancy specializing in cultural movement marketing, where she was responsible for the firm's growth strategy, vision, and overall marketing. She has previously held leadership roles at Ogilvy and Viant, a programmatic media firm.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Rasika is deeply committed to advancing the field of marketing and sits on the board of the American Marketing Association, the largest community-based professional marketing association in the world.
She’s also a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in Marketing and volunteers her time as a mentor for Digital Undivided, a non-profit dedicated to addressing systemic inequities and empowering women of color to transform entrepreneurship.
Bethany is the Head of Strategy at Special New Zealand, and has contributing to the agency being named by WARC as The Most Effective Independent Agency of the Year, by Campaign Asia as Creative Agency of The Year and Integrated Agency of the Year, and by Campaign UK as the Global Creative Agency of the Year. Her work has been recognised across global shows including Cannes, D&AD, EFFIES, One Show, New York Festivals and local recognition for work that celebrates indigenous creativity and thinking. Last year she co-authored The Inclusive Code — a resource co-created with underserved communities to help marketing practitioners create more inclusive work.
Paola Ortega - Head of Strategy - Quality Meats
Born in Mexico, and raised in Texas; the curiosity to understand her own upbringing and how that impacted how she engaged with the world and with brands was the spark to her career in advertising. Having spent the beginning of her career in multicultural agencies helped give her the foundations to always dig deeper, to push past the obvious to read between the lines and never assume that one size fits all.
She’s taken her skills and love for the craft to agencies like Mekanism, Preacher, DDB and BBH, giving her the unique opportunity to work across a range of industries and creative challenges. She’s spent some time in CPG, helping brands within the General Mills portfolio (Yoplait, Cheerios, Progresso, Old El Paso) connect with Hispanic audiences and helping iconic American beers (Budweiser, Coors Light, Coors Banquet) regain their footing in the midst of the craft beer craze. She has also helped take a once niche bourbon brand, Basil Hayden's, expand its audience while protecting its non-mainstream appeal, and translated Crate & Barrel’s heritage in style and design for a younger audience entering a new phase of life. Previoulsy Paola was Strategy Director at BBH USA, where she worked on Mattel, Barbie and Lionsgate, as well as leading the agency’s DE&I Taskforce.
Dr Candice O’Sullivan is the owner, Managing Director and Head of Strategy & Planning of Wellmark, a Melbourne-based creative agency specialising in healthcare communications. Formerly a medical practitioner, Candice has spent the last 20 years developing and
implementing marketing communications and brand strategy for some of Australia’s leading healthcare and pharmaceutical brands.
Her focus is on the delivery of high-level strategic insights that help improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare marketing campaigns. She will often work with a brand prior to launch, developing brand and communications strategy to support market entry before planning and overseeing the creative execution of tactical programs across the entire product lifecycle.
She has worked with a diverse range of organisations in the Australian healthcare industry, including the Australian Medical Association (AMA), the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA), the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Alfred Health, Austin Health, Bendigo Health, Baptcare, Dairy Australia, Evoca Women’s Health, Modeus, Neami National, Neo-Bionica, Newlife IVF, Jumar Bioincubator and Vision Eye Institute.
She maintains specialty expertise in pharmaceutical marketing and has worked with many local affiliates of multinational companies including Amgen, AstraZeneca, Baxter Healthcare, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eisai, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Horizon, Ipsen, Shire, Smith&Nephew and Takeda. She designed and developed Australia’s first industry-sponsored home infusion program, supporting patients to receive intravenous treatment in the comfort of their own home. The program was an exemplar for best
practice locally. Her role in this and many other patient support programs has seen Candice become a local authority on the design and delivery of service excellence by Australian pharmaceutical brands.
Candice recognises that her clinical background combined with her post-graduate marketing qualifications are unique to the market, and is committed to applying the scientific principles and empirical research that underpinned her medical training to the practice of strategy-led, evidence-based marketing within the healthcare sector.
He founded INNORED in 2007, and, since then, the company has sustained consistent levels of growth over the past 17 years, becoming well positioned as the leading independent advertising agency in Korea, where, historically the industry has been primarily dominated by major in-house agencies of the top Korean conglomerates, which essentially makeup near 80 percent of the market share for domestic advertising.
INNORED has created and built up several successful flagship, portfolio campaigns, leading to deep rooted, long term partnerships with major global brands such as Burger King, North Face, Airbnb, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson and Unilever, as well as strong relationships with some of the leading domestic brands such as Korea Ginseng Corporation, Binggrae, Dongseo Foods and Maeil Dairy, amongst others.
He was named the “Korean Advertiser of the Year” in 2022 and also served as a “Juror” at the London International Advertising Festival, the New York Festival, the Korea Advertising Awards and the YouTube Works Awards.
INNORED has picked up over 100 awards from major global advertising festivals such as Cannes Lions, London International Advertising Festival, One Show, New York Festival, Clio and Adfest.
INNORED has further focused on contributing to creating a more healthier advertising industry ecosystem and environment in Korea, and, in line with their vision, the company has made several key strategic investments in some of the promising independent agencies here.
Margaux Pepper brings a contagious enthusiasm, insatiable curiosity, and passion for all things delicious to her work turning brands into cultural relevance powerhouses. In her decade at Weber Shandwick she's worked across all corners of the food and beverage industry, from commodities (Pork, Milk, Pecans) to retail (ALDI) to foodservice (Panera, McDonald’s) and CPG (Nestlé, Bud Light, Jameson).
Margaux's strategic prowess was behind moments like Olympian Katie Ledecky swimming across a pool balancing chocolate milk on her head for the Milk Board, the drool-worthy, tradition-busting Digiorno Thanksgiving Pizza, and the revival of discontinued Italian icon pastina with fellow Italian stars S.Pellegrino and Stanley Tucci.
Her work has been recognized with industry accolades from Effies to Sabres to ADDYs, and she's served as a jurist for the PR Week Awards and Effie Collegiate competition. She will always be especially proud of her victory as a U.S winner and Global top five finalist in the 2015 Cannes Young Lions PR competition.
Cris Pereira Heal has been with Fbiz since 2023 and brings over 25 years of experience in Account Management and Communications Business. Her career includes leading roles at prominent agencies such as DM9DDB, ALMAP/BBDO, FCB Brasil, Wieden+Kennedy, and major global groups like WPP and IPG. Throughout her career, she has worked with major brands including Ambev, Nestlé, Kimberly Clark, and Stellantis. Her contributions to the industry have been recognized with awards such as Caboré 2018 and Garra do Galo APP 2021. At Fbiz, Cris stands out for her leadership with a strong focus on Sustainability practices.
Rachelle is the Director of Strategy & Innovation at AbbVie’s Digital Lab where she helps drive digital transformation for the organization. Previous to her role she led Creative Strategy for creative shop North America at Meta. In that role she drove innovative cross platform strategies for Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and Meta Quest across all industries tapping into consumer and industry insights.
Her background includes launching numerous global campaigns while working in the US and UK, exploring innovation, and establishing regional and global strategies to drive results. She is a seasoned strategic marketer with 20 years experience in Tech, Advertising, traditional and digital marketing. She’s built a career working on national and global integrated marketing campaigns building brands for fortune 500 companies. She’s worked at agencies and platforms such as Meta, BBDO and Leo Burnett and partnered with clients most notably McDonald’s, Mars, Wrigley, Kellogg.
She has a personal passion for fostering and infusing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
She sits on the Board for the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising in the College of Media at the University of Illinois and she’s served on the jury for the Effie’s and numerous internal creative awards.
With 20 years of experience in law and advertising, Carolina Pinheiro has spent 14 years managing Inbrax, the advertising agency where she is a partner and co-founder. Under her leadership, Inbrax has positioned itself as one of the most creative independent agencies in the Chilean market, recognized in various international rankings (WINA Festival, CreativePool Top 25, bestadsontv.com, Crema Ranking by Adlatina, Lüerzer's Archive, Top FICE) and with multiple awards both in Chile and abroad (Effie, Cristal Festival, Fiap, New York Festivals, Cresta Awards, Epica Awards, Creativity, Ad Stars, Caples Awards, among others). In 2020, Inbrax was named the most awarded agency of the year at WINA Festival, Digital Agency of the Year in TopFICE 2020, and Agency of the Year in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Carolina was recognized by AdWeek “Future is Female”, as Creative Leader 2023 by Empresas Creativas de Chile, chosen as one of the 100 Leading Women 2022, and became the first woman to win the MKTG BEST 2020 as the Best Advertising Agency CEO. She was also the first Latin American to receive the “Best Leader in Marketing – Agency Side” at Women In Marketing 2018 in London. She serves as Director at Conar and AMDD and is also a mentor at WoomUp!, an organization dedicated to promoting the professional growth of women in Chile, as well as an Ambassador for Mujeres Internacionales, Chilean Chapter. She is currently listed among the 40 Over Forty.
Carolina holds a Master’s in International Law and a Diploma in the Chile-U.S. Free Trade Agreement from the University of Chile, along with a Master’s in Marketing Management and a Master’s in Business Law, both from the Adolfo Ibáñez University. She is a professor in the Master’s in Marketing program at the University of Santiago – Usach, and she is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Communication, Diversity, and Inclusion in Organizations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
She has served as jury president for the Gerety Awards and Echo Latam and has been a jury member for Effie Latam, AME Awards, Webby Awards, Gerety Awards, Creativepool, Women in Marketing, Next Creative Leaders, Iconicas, Caracol de Plata, Dragons of Asia, Eikon, Luum Awards, among others.
Currently, she leads Belong Communication Lab, a conscious market research entity aimed at developing communication campaigns and products focused on diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
Amy is a Group Strategy Director hailing from Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. She currently works at FCB Aotearoa on some of the nation’s most beloved brands, including Air New Zealand and Pak’NSave.
Prior to FCB she spent almost a decade at Colenso BBDO, winning Effectiveness awards nationally, regionally and internationally, including a WARC Grand Prix. During her time at Colenso, they were named New Zealand’s most Effective Agency multiple times.
She’s a self-confessed “effectiveness nerd” and is passionate about making work that works. She is also a guest lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, getting the next generation of advertising kids fizzed about strategy.
Isadora Prado is a Brazilian advertising professional currently leading the repositioning strategy for Santander at BETC Havas. Throughout her career, she has earned several prestigious international awards, including a Cannes Gold Lion, Effie Global Best of the Best, and Grand Effie, with the highly successful Lu from Magalu campaign during her time at Ogilvy. Isadora has also worked with top agencies such as WmCann and Talent Marcel (Publicis Groupe), crafting strategies for renowned brands like L'Oréal, Coca-Cola, and Oreo.
Marcelo is one of the leading creative professionals in the Brazilian market. Reis was acclaimed as the most awarded campaign of 2013 by the Gunn Report, in its All Gunns Blazing Category. In 2014, Reis helped LBTM to win 22 Cannes Lions, making Leo Burnett Tailor Made the most awarded Brazilian agency at the Cannes Festival.
He was acknowledged by Advertising Age as one of the six most awarded Creative Directors in the world in 2013. Born in Minas Gerais, he moved to São Paulo in 1999 and a few months later was chosen as Young Creative at Cannes 1999. He won major awards, both national and international, among which: Gold Lion at Cannes, London Festival, Clio Awards, One Show, Agency of the Year at Cannes and awards at major advertising festivals in Brazil.
He worked at important agencies such as W/Brazil, DM9, Leo Burnett, Y&R and Lew'Lara\TBWA. In 2008 he became Creative Director at DM9DDB and actively participated in obtaining the award for Agency of The Year at the 2009 Cannes Festival.
Reis also helped DM9DDB to win more than 16 lions in just two years. In late 2010 he joined Tailor Made as a partner and, in 2011, assumed as Creative VP for Leo Burnett Tailor Made, when the two agencies merged. In October 2014, Marcelo Reis became CO-CEO and CCO of Leo Burnett Tailor Made and in the following year, he was "Adman of the Year" by the 2015 Columnists Awards.
Currently, Reis is on the leadership of #VoltaPinheiros, movement aimed and raising awareness for the cleanliness of the Pinheiros river, one of the largest in Latin America and heavily polluted. In 2024, he becomes a creative partner at Troup Cyranos SP, an international and independent agency.
Ricard Robres is the Executive Creative Director at Omnicom Health Group in Spain, leading the creative vision for all OHG agencies in Spain, including DDBH and CDM.
With a background in Fine Arts and Creativity, he has worked with a wide range of advertising agencies and even founded his own. Over his 20+ years of experience as an art and creative director, he has crafted campaigns for brands like Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Danone, and Timberland. In the past decade, he has specialized in healthcare communications, partnering with pharmaceutical leaders like Pfizer, Roche, Bayer, Novartis, and Merck.
Since 2007, he has been at the helm of CDM’s creative team, driving the agency to win numerous national and international awards, including recognition as a Healthcare Network at Cannes Lions Health. He has also served as a jury member at global festivals like Dubai Lynx, The Globals, and Lisbon Health. This year, he was honored to be named President of the Jury for the Aspid Awards.
Throughout her 16 years of variegated experience, Sohini has worn many hats—connecting the dots between technology, design, psychology, and strategy. With a focus on building a sustainable and value-driven future, she is committed to ensuring businesses and individuals stay true to their core principles while embracing progress. Excited to be part of the AME judging journey for the second year.
Pipe is a uniquely creative individual—dynamic and multifaceted. His career has been marked by experiences across various areas of advertising, from creating jingles, producing events and activations, to developing highly impactful innovative products for society.
Originally trained in music and sound engineering, Pipe grew up in hyper-creative environments from the start of his career. After several years of working in production and scriptwriting, he shifted towards Copywriting and lateral thinking.
He has worked at five of the 'big six' global holding companies, making him a versatile and capable professional with deep knowledge of industry dynamics and high-level client business development.
In recent years, he has excelled in promoting and executing innovative projects for global clients and brands—projects that have left a lasting mark on the industry and become global benchmarks. Waterlight for Edina Energy, Nest Domes for Banana Boat, Palate care Dispenser for Operation Smile, among others.
Certified in Exponential Technologies by Singularity University in Silicon Valley, CA, Pipe thrives in highly complex digital environments, such as AI Ethics, Quantum Computing, Synthetic Biology, Immersive Universes, Blockchain, among others.
He has been recognized as one of the 10 most influential creatives in Latin America, and several of his campaigns have won multiple awards at advertising festivals worldwide."
A 2024 Veasna So Scholar in Fiction and an Effie judge, Basmah Sakrani is a writer turned advertising professional specializing in performance marketing. With experience in both MENA and the US, she collaborates with brands across various industries to enhance their digital experience through paid, owned, and earned media strategies, driving conversions and delivering measurable business results.
Basmah has driven strategic initiatives for many diverse projects: product launches for Microsoft, Ramadan campaigns for General Mills, content strategy for St. Jude's Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, and media go-to-markets for Tampax.
Priscilla Sarabia is a passionate strategist with over a decade of experience driving transformative solutions across industries such as tech, FMCG, and entertainment. Based in Mexico City, she currently leads a team at Monks, crafting award-winning strategies that align business goals with cultural insights for global brands like Google and Netflix. Through her personal project, Overview of Motherhood in the Advertising Industry in Latin America she strives to be an agent of change by advocating for better maternity policies in the region. Priscilla combines curiosity, creativity, and expertise to design impactful, data-driven strategies that inspire meaningful connections and measurable growth.
Anita is Executive Director of Strategy at McKinney, based in Los Angeles. She has almost two decades of experience working with agencies like Grey, Havas, and TBWA\Chiat\Day to find marketing solutions to business problems, build a compelling brand story, and bring it to life in the right channels. She has worked with clients such as Blue Diamond, Samsung, and Neighborly, and is a member of McKinney's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative. AdColor has recognized her in their 2022 Leadership program. Her approach has won numerous awards for campaigns and websites for brands such as QuickBooks, IMAX, Keurig, Pantene, and Uniqlo. She has an Executive MBA from UCLA Anderson. Prior to advertising, she worked in documentary film and nonprofit, and has taught digital marketing at General Assembly, and advised small businesses at UCLA's Venture Accelerator. She writes on marketing and culture at Frame Strategy.
Lucas Scotti is the Head of Strategic Planning at Herezie, overseeing advertising strategy across all campaigns and clients. With a career spanning agencies like Grey Paris, Herezie, and Ogilvy Paris, he has partnered with major brands like Prime Video, Allianz France, and Tinder. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including recognition at Cannes Lions, D&AD, and Effie for impactful campaigns across diverse sectors.
Holding a Master’s in Political Philosophy and Ethics from Paris-Sorbonne and a Master’s from CELSA, Lucas builds strategy rooted in human and brand truths to elevate and inspire creativity. He is an active member of the Strategic Planning Collective (CPS) and is dedicated to inclusivity initiatives, contributing to Ogilvy’s BTS program for students from Parisian suburbs.
Heather has spent 25 years exploring what drives consumer behaviour as an account lead, qualitative market researcher, and strategic planner for global brands. She has worked across industries including packaged goods, food and beverage, lottery, travel, entertainment, automotive, and financial services. Her strategic insights have fueled globally awarded creative campaigns, earning her recognition as one of the country’s top strategic planners. All this keeps her busy--until her baking career takes off.
Juie is a Strategy Director at DDB Chicago working on the US Army account. Originally from Mumbai, India, Juie grew up in a melting pot of rich cultural diversity. The fascinating environment of socioeconomic, cultural, religious and gender differences were a perfect habitat for birthing curiosity about the human condition, something she continues to find an anchor in through her decade long career. In her last seven years at DDB, she has worked across insurance, telecom, beverages, QSR and the government sector. Juie spends her weekends collaborating with her Bonsai-artist parents to set up India’s first Bonsai e-commerce platform.
As a lifelong learner, Juie is passionate about design, equity and the intersection of the two disciplines. She makes it a point to give time to young immigrants and young women trying to break into advertising.
An advocate for challenger brand platforms for over two decades to counter and upset orthodoxies and bureaucracies around brand thinking. Steered brand strategy for large Global and Indian brands with mind opening workshops with Global CEOs and CXOs on culture, challenger positioning, new product development and brand archetypes; and worked with brands such as Nissan, Sony, Whirlpool, Airtel and Suzuki to create work that works. Been in roles heading strategic planning departments in top global advertising agencies in India at Delhi/Gurgaon and holding brand positions in corporations. Inspirational creative briefs that result in powerful brand ideas to brand analytics from empirical parameter definition to monitoring of impact on identified KPIs and managing strategic research process with sharp research challenge definition and consumer insights are all a part of my job. Being a part of live action on brands; and developing case studies in categories such as automobiles, aviation, durables, finance, telecom & education is always thrill-worthy.
More than 20 years experience driving brand growth and partnerships across APAC, connecting the dots between cultural shifts and business needs, creating future-fit brand solutions.
An ex qualitative researcher at Flamingo research and Head of Cultural Intelligence APAC at TBWA, Bel has extensive experience synthesizing and processing insight/ foresight planning, investigating andunderstanding human behaviour in the larger context of what’s happening, using cultural and brand insight to fuel strategy, innovation and new business ideas.
Some of the key brands and work over the years include destination branding for Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Hilton. Taking APAC/ AU brands like Tiger Beer, Toll Group out to the world and driving cultural relevance across Asia for global brands for Spotify, IKEA, Heineken,Guinness, Manulife, Unilever. She was also the lead strategist driving more than 50 creative, PR and effectiveness awards for Spotify, IKEA, Singapore Airlines, Manulife, Samaritans of Singapore, Shell Singapore.
Tanvi is a senior strategy leader with extensive experience in the APAC region, helping brands to accelerate and adapt to the new digital realities. An electronics & communications engineer turned marketer, she has a unique background in combining brand strategy, media innovation and user experience design with business strategy. With multiple APAC and regional Effie awards under her belt, she is passionate about driving growth for some of most disruptive brands across Australia, Southeast Asia, and India
Aki (he/him/his) lives and works at the nexus of consumer culture and connected technologies. He applies data-centric, and radically-collaborative sensibilities to build creative solutions that provide value for people.
As Chief Strategy Officer at Cashmere/LA, Aki marks a return back to culture-driven strategies and ideas for brands (having started his career in music marketing). At Cashmere, Aki is charged with honing the agency’s strategic processes for scale & growth – and ultimately linking into the broader Media.Monks and S4 Capital “API” of services.
Previously, Aki was Chief Strategy Officer at Leo Burnett/Chicago, where he helped update the strategic approach for brand, digital, and data integration at one of the most storied agencies in the world. There he introduced innovative forays in AI, Web3, and Multicultural Intelligence for brands like Kelloggs, Jim Beam, Bank of America, Samsung, Messenger, US Cellular, and more. Aki co-led a strategic resource and accelerator for all the creative agencies across Publicis – to operationalize 'general market' teams who are increasingly-challenged with how to become more culturally-fluent in an era of an increasingly-diverse mass market.
Aki leaves Leo Burnett having helped the agency achieve 2022 Agency of the Year at One Show, ADC and Clios, Best in Show at One Show, Addy, Communication Arts and AICP, Titanium and Grand Prix at Cannes – and more proudly – a wealth of gold, silver and bronze strategy and effectiveness awards across 2022 Effies (incl 2nd Most Effective Agency Network – Leo Burnett Worldwide), WARC Awards for Effectiveness, ARF Ogilvy Awards for Research, and Jay Chiat Strategy Awards.
Lisa is the Deputy Chief Strategy Officer at Pablo London, one of the UK’s fastest growing independent agencies, and winner of Campaign Magazine’s Agency of the Year in 2022. Lisa has previously held the role of Head of Planning at adam&eveDDB winning APG & IPA Effectiveness Agency of the Year and running Mars Petcare global business alongside Eurostar & adidas. Lisa cut her teeth in advertising as the strategic lead on Guinness at AMV BBDO, building ‘Made of More’ into a £1bn idea and shepherding the brand to reclaim black and white, and ultimately becoming the #1 beer brand in the UK. She believes the best work comes from mixing magic and measurement together, creating great work that really works.
Gabriela Surkin is a marketing and creative director who moved to New York after being granted an "O-1 Visa for extraordinary ability" for her marketing expertise.
Gabriela has extensive experience managing marketing campaigns and leading cross-functional teams. Her global experience includes various continents, including South America, Europe, and North America.
Among her achievements, she won a TikTok Award for her innovative financial strategy for Prestalo, which earned her the title of having the best financial channel on the platform. Gabriela also spearheaded successful campaigns for Finmarie, helping the Berlin-based financial startup to achieve early-stage funding of EUR 1.4 million. Furthermore, she created a LinkedIn campaign that helped elevate Finmarie's founder, Karolina Decker, to recognition as one of Germany's 50 most influential advisors. Additionally, Gabriela was awarded the prestigious best marketing campaign award from AAM for her contributions at Radio Mitre S.A.
Gabriela's entrepreneurial established her fashion brand, MIIST, which garnered attention from leading publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and La Nacion. Her designs were even showcased at the National Costume Museum of Argentina, while her collaborations with Nous Etudions saw her presenting capsule collections at the Buenos Aires Fashion Week.
Shingo is the Brand Marketing Director at moomoo securities Japan, a part of FUTU Holdings, which is listed on the NASDAQ. Previously, he joined McCann Erickson of McCann Worldgroup Japan as a Strategic Planning Director. Before that, Shingo served as an Associate Strategy Director at R/GA Tokyo, Japan, where he worked on clients such as NIKE. He also has experience at Publicis Groupe Japan. Shingo started his career at Dentsu’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, as an account planner in the Sports division.
Shingo enjoys identifying issues/problems, understanding why they are the real problems through research and data analysis, and developing strategies to provide solutions. He is fascinated by the idea of using a good mixture of left and right brain.
Patricia Swindle
Independent Brand and Marketing Consultant
Founder: The Loring Partnership Marketing Consultancy
Adjunct Faculty: University of Chicago Graham School – Principles of Marketing and New Directions
An award-winning innovator with a proven track record for building business through careful analysis of data, creative problem-solving and thoughtful decisions. I have guided the strategic direction of world-class iconic brands including MasterCard, Dove Beauty Care, Procter and Gamble’s Tide and McDonald's. Dedicated to creating brand growth I emphasize the importance of compelling memory structures, distinctive assets and mental and physical availability to change consumer behaviors and deliver measurable results.
John Thangaraj, Chief Strategy Officer, Havas Creative Network India
John Thangaraj is Havas Creative Network India's Chief Strategy Officer where he is responsible for driving the strategic mandate of the creative network for agencies including Havas Creative India, Havas CX India, Conran Design Mumbai, Ekino, and Havas People India.
John comes armed with 23 years of experience as a multi-functional marketing communications strategist across consumer research, marketing, advertising and media. With a postgraduate degree in Marketing, Advertising, and Communication, he began his career in PR in 2002.
In 2007, he joined adidas, managing the launch and promotion of the adidas Originals brand in India. In 2008, he transitioned to advertising with Rediffusion Y&R as Head of Strategic Planning, handling brands like Bacardi, Danone, and Tata Steel. At MullenLowe Lintas Group from 2010, he worked with brands including Hindustan Times, Nestle, and HCL Technologies.
In 2013, he led strategic initiatives at Mindshare for clients such as Pepsico, Lufthansa, and GlaxoSmithKline. Most recently, at FCB Group India, he worked with major brands like Google, Uber, Bata, Pernod Ricard and Vistara.
Leyla Touma Dailey is 2024 AdAge Small Agency Executive of the Year, and a 2023 Business Women First Enterprising Woman of the Year. As President and Chief Creative Officer of Doe-Anderson, Leyla is the first woman to hold either title at the 109-year-old agency.
Always in pursuit of creative excellence, she is fiercely protective of the consumer insight at the heart of every beautifully executed idea. She understands the value that comes from experiences that connect with consumers to change behavior, resulting in work that has been recognized by multiple global awards shows on brands including Maker’s Mark, Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium, Bel Brand Cheeses, Tyson, KitchenAid, Whirlpool, Corona, Modelo and Kim Crawford Wine.
Leyla has served on multiple juries including Dubai Lynx, ADC Fusion Cube and Effies finals. She also sits on the board of Fund For the Arts, and loves mentoring the next generation of creative talent in the advertising community.
Huiwen heads up the strategy team for APAC. A creative strategy leader with experience across client and agency sides, driven by purpose, meaning and fun. She has always been drawn to projects and roles with the potential to impact culture and human behaviour. Her ultimate achievement to date is fending off the neighbourhood police at an opening party involving pole dancers & fake dollar bills.
Prior to becoming Klick’s inaugural Chief Strategy Officer, Carl Turner has held numerous leadership positions in the health marketing agencies, including managing partner and chief strategy officer at Razorfish Health and executive vice president, head of strategy at Publicis LifeBrands Medicus. In these various roles, Carl and his teams have played an integral role in crafting the strategies behind many of the most successful recent launches in oncology, immunology, rare disease, and infectious disease.
Yet, part of what has helped him cultivate a unique approach to branding is the experiences he had before joining the industry, including his time as a medical assistant, social worker, market researcher, data scientist, social psychologist and even as a professional saxophonist.
Fascinated by the intersections of psychology, communication, and brand experience, Carl is obsessed with finding unorthodox approaches to strategy, creating unique stories for brands, and developing inspired strategy teams.
Over the past 15 years, Carl has been a disruptor in the health and life sciences space who challenged clients and agencies to change their perspectives on what is possible with strategy. He was named to the 2022 PharmaVoice 100 list, was on the 2024 Cannes Lions Shortlist Jury, was on the 2020 and 2021 Health Effies final round juries, was a member of the Executive Council for University of Georgia’s AdPR program, is a member of The College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of Delaware, and has published articles in WARC, MM&M and Political Psychology.
From being one of the top 30 Executive Creative Directors in Africa and the Middle East at Loeries 2020, Loyiso Twala went on to become one of the top 20 Chief Creative Officers in Africa and the Middle East in 2024. Apart from creative directing the largest rebrand Africa has ever seen, Loyiso has over two decades of integrated creative communications experience across private and public sector businesses plus speaker and award accolades for various local and international award shows like Loeries and Cannes Lions. He has led McCann Joburg to rank 8th best agency at Creative Circle South Africa and top 5 agencies in Sub-Saharan Africa at Cannes Lions in 2024. He is also a member of the Cannes Lions ANA Global Growth for Progress Council with a focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. His goal however is to be ranked number 1 dad in his kids hearts, his best full-time job and creative yet. No kidding.
Anietie Udoh is a creative marketing strategist with nearly two decades of experience in market research, brand positioning, strategy and implementation, advertising agency relations, and budget planning.
Throughout his professional journey, Anietie has managed successful integrated marketing communications, brand management, and PR campaigns for major brands such as Peak Milk, Three Crowns, Peak Chocolate, Peak Yoghurt, Opay,Burger King and many more. His ability to infuse creativity into marketing strategies has led to successful campaigns.
Anietie has a knack for converting data into priceless market insights. In his current role as Divisional Director of Marketing Edge Publications, he provides incisive and intelligent market reports, providing brand owners and stakeholders with relevant marketing information necessary for informed decision-making. He dedicates himself to exploring and understanding the Nigerian and sub-regional African markets, uncovering invaluable insights that elevate brands to new heights.
Under his leadership, Marketing Edge Publications plays a pivotal role in shaping and elevating brands. Through their insightful publications, brands and businesses have experienced direct and substantial impacts, leading to enhanced growth and market success.
His magical approach to marketing is a blend of insights, strategy and creativity, positioning him as a preferred choice of some prominent brands and agencies. He is not only a marketing expert but also a prolific writer whose skilful use of concise, thought-provoking punchlines captivates and inspires his readers.
Dissara is a visionary in the advertising world, redefining the industry with bold innovation and inspiring creative leadership. His ability to think without limits has transformed storytelling and elevated brand-building on a global scale.
As the founder of Yell, Thailand’s first agency network, Dissara’s journey began in Bangkok with a daring vision to disrupt the norms. Under his guidance, Yell expanded to Singapore, established a stronghold in Shanghai, and most recently, brought its creative energy to
Hong Kong. This growing network is a testament to his knack for blending cultural nuances with impactful strategies that resonate across markets.
Beyond building businesses, Dissara is a mentor, speaker, and judge on prestigious global platforms. His passion for nurturing talent and fostering innovation has inspired countless professionals, earning him a reputation as a creative powerhouse and industry pioneer.
Dissara’s legacy is one of bold ideas, transformative leadership, and a relentless drive to push boundaries. His contributions continue to leave an indelible mark on the advertising world, inspiring the next generation of creative thinkers.
Gilda Valle is one of the most respected and admired strategy directors in Ecuador, with 20 years of experience. She is now recognized as a significant figure in the field of strategic planning.
Currently, she leads the strategy department at BBDO Ecuador, developing valuable strategies for the country's and the region's main advertisers. She has served as a judge in the most important advertising festivals such as Effie Latam, Effie Ecuador, El Ojo de Iberoamérica, New York Festivals, Young Lions Ecuador, Fiap, etc.
She is one of the most awarded women in her country.
Lara Velázquez Alarcos
Head of Strategy and Acceleration
Lara Velázquez began her career as a lawyer, but it was during her time in China that she discovered a deep passion for advertising—leading her to pivot into global and local strategy roles at media, creative, and digital agencies. Today, she is Head of Strategy and Acceleration at OMD Spain, where she drives the strategic direction for a diverse portfolio of clients, including brands like PepsiCo, McDonald’s, Renault, and AliExpress.
With over 15 years of experience in brand development, strategic planning, and creative storytelling across multiple categories, Lara has played a key role in shaping campaigns that drive business growth and strengthen brand relevance. Her deep understanding of consumer behavior, combined with a sharp cultural perspective and keen insight into the media landscape, enables her to deliver innovative, impactful solutions in fast-paced, evolving environments. Guided by the motto “seeing around corners,” she maintains a fresh perspective that helps her identify hidden opportunities and anticipate cultural shifts.
She also shares her expertise as a teacher at ISDI and IED.
Lara is deeply interested in anthropology, psychology, and the exploration of human nature. In her free time, she enjoys improving her cooking skills, playing tennis, and cycling.