2020 GRAND JURY NORTH AMERICA

USA
David Bates
CEO & Creative Director Bokeh
ABOUT

David Bates

David is a high-functioning eccentric who thinks in stories, speaks in aphorisms, and wields a passion for storytelling that’s unorthodox approaching idiosyncratic. Hired at Google as a 22-year old, David held an objectively unjustifiable amount of power. He built a content team at Google Maps and established a global production strategy that covered the Canadian Arctic, Taj Mahal, and Pyramids at Giza. Then he left to turn his side project, a wedding video company named Bokeh, into a marketing agency. David now develops campaign strategies and content for brands like Google, Instagram, Airbnb, WeWork, DoorDash, Visa and more. David is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and currently lives in San Francisco. 

USA
Peter Bunarek
Managing Director BBDO Atlanta
ABOUT

Peter Bunarek

Peter knows what keeps CMOs awake at night, because well, that’s what has kept him awake for the past 20+ years. His career spans both the agency and client sides, across every conceivable vertical from retail, telco, food and beverage, automotive, travel, outdoor recreation, healthcare, and agriculture. Regardless of vertical, Peter knows agencies are at their best when creatively solving complex business problems, fast. He instills in the agency a bias for action, a knack for business and marketing strategy, a passion for data and technology, and a love for creativity. Peter’s leadership of BBDO ATL has resulted in wins at Cannes, Effies, Clios, Addys, Webbys, NY Festivals, One Show, and Communication Arts.

Peter’s also actively involved in Atlanta’s creative, business and non-profit community. He serves as a Board Director for the 4As Atlanta Council, as a Board Advisor for the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and as a Board Director for Street Grace, a faith-based non-profit that exists to end domestic minor sex trafficking.

USA
Federico Chiesa
Chief Strategy Officer Havas Village X New York
ABOUT

Federico Chiesa

Federico brings more than 20 years of brand experience from both the client and agency sides. He cut his teeth working on global brands such as IBM and Coca-Cola in Argentina, his native country.

As a brand consultant for Interbrand and Brand Architecture International, Federico worked in diverse categories, projects ranged from activating “Chivas Life” to branding the city of Toronto. He joined BBDO in 2006 where he led some of their most iconic brands, such as Gillette, Johnson’s Baby and Bank of America.  In 2013, he became the lead planner for BBDO HealthWork, a healthcare-focused joint venture of BBDO and CDM. He worked across many categories, including obesity (Novo), diabetes (Bayer), mental health (Allergan), flu (Genentech), and gastro (Takeda), to name a few.

He is currently Chief Strategy Officer at Havas Village X. Previously he served as EVP, Strategy Director at McCann Health where he leds the brand strategy team across all patient communication initiatives..

Federico is passionate about understanding people and their behaviors and believes that regardless of the category, brands can and should serve as catalysts for behavioral changes for good.

USA
Cinzia Crociani
SVP Creative Director McCann Worldgroup
ABOUT

Cinzia Crociani

Cinzia serves as Global Creative Director at Energy BBDO in Chicago. She loves her job, so much that she started her career in advertising twice: the first time as copywriter in Milan and the second as an art director in Singapore. In Asia she helped create the “Life Saving Dot,” an idea that transformed traditional Indian “bindis” into life-saving iodine patches for women in rural India.

Recently, she helped create “Prescribed to Death,” a memorial wall with 22,000 pills, each bearing the face of a person killed by opioid addiction. The memorial was hosted for two weeks at the Ellipse Gardens at the White House.

She’s worked on global and Fortune 500 brands and her work has been recognized by international shows including Cannes Lions, One Show, and D&AD and she’s been part of several international juries.

She believes that attention is the new currency. The only way for a brand to be able to become part of people’s life is to tap into the things they care about. Her litmus test for a good idea is how it would sound in a CNN newscast.

Cinzia was recently a speaker at Ad Stars in Korea where she talked about the use of data in “Prescribed To Death”. When she‘s not solving clients’ business problems, she enjoys moving from one continent to the other, trying to make her cat an internet celebrity and spending time with her family.

USA
Bruno Cunha
Strategy, VP 360i
ABOUT

Bruno Cunha

 

Bruno is a Strategy VP at 360i New York, overseeing a team responsible for breaking new ground for brands. Experienced in multiple disciplines, industries and cultures, he’s played key roles across global campaigns and in numerous award-winning projects. Having served as Head of Planning for Ogilvy Brazil and with an international background, that includes the UK and Buenos Aires, Bruno believes in the power of brands in shaping a better world.

USA
Cort Cunningham
Strategy Lead Ueno
ABOUT

Cort Cunningham

Cort is Strategy Lead and Copywriter at Ueno in NYC. Concurrently, he is the Managing Editor of Vegan Good Life Magazine, a counterculture publication made by a group of like-minded creatives in Berlin and NYC. With over 15 years of brand marketing and digital production experience across a variety of for-profit and non-profit sectors, Cort continues his career journey as a skilled hybrid. At Ueno, he leads brand & content strategy, connections planning, and editorial content creation. He believes in solving human problems through provoking new lines of thinking and creativity and measuring the things that matter.

USA
Chris Duffey
Head of Adobe GenStudio Adobe
ABOUT

Chris Duffey

Chris Duffey is a leading figure in technological futurism and creative growth strategies, known for his 25+ years of digital innovation with world-renowned companies and spearheading Adobe's strategic development partnerships for Generative AI.

His expertise spans AI, AR/VR, the Metaverse, and more, earning global recognition – his work has been featured by more than 200 global media outlets and influential board member roles with organizations like ANA and CTA. Chris is author of the award-winning book Superhuman Innovation, the world’s first book co-authored by AI about AI. Named one of the best product innovation books of all time by BOOKAUTHORITY. In 2023 Chris published Decoding the Metaverse: Expand Your Business Using Web3.

Renowned as a keynote speaker, Chris' keynotes have received over 50+ million impressions. Duffey has shared his insights at international forums and industry events, captivating audiences with his understanding of complex technology and its impact on society.

USA
Mariano Duhalde
Chief Creative Officer Any Given Day
ABOUT

Mariano Duhalde

Iran
Pejman Fakharian
Filmmaker/Creative Director Freelance
ABOUT

Pejman Fakharian

I started screenwriting and promotional filmmaking in advertising agencies in 1996 and have worked for brands such as RADO, SAMSUNG, UNILEVER, ALCATEL, TISSOT, NISSAN, DAEWOO and LG. I introduced corporate video production in Iran in 2015 and made several such videos, one of which won two silver and bronze medals from the New York Festivals for best writing and film. I have also made over 1000 promotional videos so far and was nominated with a TVC for the New York Advertising Festival in 2019. I have been a member of the selection and judgment committee of accredited advertising festivals and won many awards at Iranian festivals. Moreover, I was selected as the best director of Iranian promotional films in 2007. I am Pejman Fakharian a screenwriter and director of promotional films as well as a creative director.

USA
Bettina Garibaldi
Senior Vice President Ketchum
ABOUT

Bettina Garibaldi

Bettina Garibaldi is a Senior Vice President at Ketchum, a top global communications consultancy. She brings 15+ years of experience leading integrated marketing communications campaigns. She is the account director for Ketchum’s largest Travel & Economic Development (T&ED) client, Discover Puerto Rico.

A daughter of an Argentinian diplomat and international economist, Bettina grew up in Argentina, Australia, the Philippines and the U.S. Thriving meant adapting to different environments and constant change – skills she has leveraged to help build the T&ED sector at Ketchum and counsel her clients daily.

She oversees a variety of clients and is active in industry organizations including Tourism Cares. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology where she teaches a course in Integrated Marketing Communications. She holds a BBA from Baruch’s Zicklin School of Business and a Master’s degree from NYU.

USA
Larry Gies
Chief Strategy Officer Energy BBDO
ABOUT

Larry Gies

Larry operates from a pretty unconventional perspective: a fundamental belief that, for the most part, people simply do not think about brands. It’s something he has seen consistently in over 20 years of consumer research and strategic planning for brands like Nike, Absolut, Wrigley, Coca-Cola, Bud Light, P&G, Sears and Microsoft.

For Larry, in order for a brand to become a part of someone’s life or even the broader culture, we have to understand what it is people truly care about, and then discover how a brand can become part of that. By permeating this consumer-focused mindset throughout Energy BBDO, Larry has driven our teams to uncover more powerful insights that have driven our clients’ brands forward and received multiple Jay Chiat awards for effective brand strategy.

Under Larry’s leadership, our strategic planning practice has tripled in size and capability, based largely on his belief that diverse perspectives and experiences are crucial to understanding the complexity of modern consumers. For Larry, the key value his group adds is the creation of a bold point of view for brands that will make them stand out and incite their consumers to action.

USA
Eric Kiker
Chief Strategy Officer LRXD
ABOUT

Eric Kiker

Eric is a Creative Director turned Brand Strategist, for a really good reason. Frustrated by brand development processes that were too slow, too costly and ultimately written from a consultant’s POV, he invented his own process. It’s called Two Weeks to Truth™. 

Since its inception, Two Weeks to Truth has helped brands including Naked Juice, Atkins Nutritionals, Jenny Craig, Curves, Nautica, KC Masterpiece, TCHO Chocolate, Perfect Bar, Teatulia and most recently, Herbalife, find their greatness. And since the process is led with both the consumer and customer (retailer) in mind, its output is immediately usable throughout the entire marketing ecosystem. 

These days, in addition to heading up strategy and occasional copywriting stints, Eric’s developing his chops as an author and speaker. Currently, the two big topic areas are: helping agencies and studios land their best accounts (and best clients) and helping the food industry improve marketing to address the fact, no one knows what to eat through a new project, thedigestiblebrand.com.

Eric has won numerous advertising industry awards, including New York and Los Angeles Art Director’s Club, Print Magazine, Graphis, Clio Short List and Archive Magazine’s Top 200 Worldwide Package Designs as well as numerous inclusions on thedieline.com. A career highlight is a permanent inclusion in the Library of Congress. 

Off duty, he’s a CrossFitting, Macro Counting, Functional-Medicine-obsessed piece of work. His wife, Linda, dog RWBY and NYC-resident son, Leo look on with a mixture of pride and annoyance. 

USA
Ryan Kutscher
Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer Circus Maximus
ABOUT

Ryan Kutscher

As Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Circus Maximus, Ryan Kutscher spearheads strategic and innovative campaigns for established and emerging brands including Amazon Prime Video, Angry Orchard and more. Under his leadership, Circus Maximus was awarded AdAge’s Small Agency of the Year in 2017. In building the small agency’s roster to a team of 40 in five offices across three continents, Ryan is constantly redefining the boundaries of the traditional agency model.

Ryan previously served as Chief Creative Officer of J. Walter Thompson’s (JWT) New York office, receiving critical acclaim for his work on Band-Aid, Macy’s, Smirnoff and Kraft. His ‘Magic Vision App’ campaign for Band-Aid won the Gold Lion at Cannes.

He has been named twice on Creativity's World's Most Awarded Creative Directors while he was at Crispin, Porter + Bogusky for his work on Burger King, Volkswagen, Alliance for Climate Protection, and many others.

Ryan is a three-time Grand Prix winner at the Cannes Advertising Festival—for Method, VW, and Burger King.  He also masterminded the Burger King “Whopper Freakout” campaign, praised by the Wall Street Journal for raising the company’s stock price. It also won the Grand Effie.

Aside from his experience creating advertising campaigns, Ryan advocates for a creative approach to life, encouraging entrepreneurship outside of employees’ daily duties at Circus Maximus, all while raising an Australian Shepherd on the mean streets of New York City.

USA
Justin Lefkovitch
Founder / Chief Executive Officer Mirrored Media
ABOUT

Justin Lefkovitch

Justin Lefkovitch is the CEO/Founder of Mirrored Media, the award-winning experiential agency that sits at the intersection of music, entrainment, influencers, fashion, art, automotive, film, technology, and the fan experience.

Alongside company partners Steve Kofsky and world-renowned film composer Hans Zimmer, Lefkovitch continues to curate some of the most successful activations in the experiential space, gaining industry-wide recognition for their transformational results. Mirrored's innovative ideas have changed the way some of the largest brands engage with their consumers.

Lefkovitch's introduction to experiential marketing differed from most. As a teenager in Los Angeles, Justin was an acclaimed touring magician and a regular featured performer at the world-famous Magic Castle alongside some of the industry’s biggest names. Soon after, while attending Pepperdine University, he began managing high-profile musical acts, giving him more exposure and expertise in the world of music and entertainment.

Today, Justin highlights the similarities between magic and creating the perfect experience. The difference between a successful effect and a transparent one is often so minute, that the tiniest extra detail transforms an ordinary experience into something extraordinary.

Justin thrives on the ability to craft a narrative, tell a story, and create lasting experiences. His company portfolio includes BMW, NBCUniversal, Mattel, AT&T, Warner Bros., Acura, Ford, Reddit, mophie, Caruso, Marriott, AirBnB, Bacardi, and more. Mirrored Media has helped a multitude of brands reach their target markets through authentic, buzzworthy and memorable experiences that are a win-win for the brand, talent, and ultimately, the fans. 

USA
Hailey Marsh
Director of Global Brand Strategy Saatchi & Saatchi LA
ABOUT

Hailey Marsh

Hailey Marsh is Director of Global Brand Strategy at Saatchi & Saatchi LA. She specializes in sports, Olympic and Paralympic marketing. Prior to Saatchi she worked at Wieden + Kennedy where she led the strategy for and launched P&G’s award winning, Rio 2016 ‘Thank you, Mom’ campaign. She then took her Olympic and Paralympic Games expertise to Saatchi LA to help launch Toyota’s first ever global brand campaign during the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games. Toyota’s ‘Start Your Impossible’ campaign gained worldwide recognition and continues to drive messaging about the future of Toyota’s business and brand. With 12+ years of advertising experience, she is an expert in helping brands communicate and grow authentically.

Her love of sports marketing is driven by her lifelong athletic pursuits. Hailey is a former NCAA Division I College soccer player and team captain for The University of Utah Utes. She lives by the ocean in Redondo Beach with her wife and two dogs.

USA
David Matathia
SVP, Strategy Director GSD&M
ABOUT

David Matathia

David is SVP, Strategy Director for GSD&M, He is a 20+ year marketing communications professional with a diverse background including: strategic planning, account management, PR and media.

David worked as Chife Strategy Officer at Fitzco from  2015 - 2020. Previously he was with Hyundai Motor America where he oversaw national and regional advertising as well as paid and social media and lead management.

Prior, he worked at GSD&M advertising in Austin, where he served as Chief Strategist working across the agency’s full client roster and on business development. While at GSD&M, David held strategic and account leadership positions for the BMW account in the U.S. and globally.

He started his career at TBWA Chiat/Day Amsterdam as a strategic planner on Nissan, worked on the brand team throughout the AOL Time Warner merger and worked in the Hispanic market with Univision on their first-ever branding effort to the U.S. Hispanic consumer.

David is a husband, father of three, dog-lover, drummer and wannabe chef.

USA
Chris Powers
Executive Creative Director, Arts & Culture Situation Interactive
ABOUT

Chris Powers

CHRISTOPHER POWERS is Executive Director, Arts & Culture at Situation Interactive in New York City.  Chris grew up in Worcester, MA and graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA before moving to NYC to begin his career in advertising.  He earned his stripes working at Mezzina/Brown, Bates Worldwide, Wunderman and Draft Worldwide on fortune 500 clients (IBM, Verizon FIOS, AstraZeneca, Computer Associates) before finding his true home (for 10 years and counting) helping Art & Culture brands tell their stories at Situation Interactive. 

At Situation Interactive, Chris leads the creative team to produce award-winning, effective campaigns that connect people to cultural experiences from clients like The Metropolitan Opera, Roundabout Theatre Company, NYU Skirball, NY Tenement Museum and Broadway shows like Spring Awakening, Anastasia the Musical, and Dear Evan Hansen.  He lives in beautiful Rego Park, NY.

USA
Michael Schiferl
Executive Vice President, Integrated Media Strategist Weber Shandwick
ABOUT

Michael Schiferl

Michael is executive vice president, integrated media strategist, for global communication firm Weber Shandwick. He shapes strategies for an expansive and diverse group of agency partners across paid, owned and earned platforms.       

Michael leads strategies to garner attention for many of the world’s most talked about campaigns, ranging from product and rebranding launches, corporate initiatives, as well as support of non-profit and cause-related efforts. He has led media relations and digital strategies surrounding dozens of Super Bowl ads and served as moderator for The New York Festivals World’s Best Advertising Show in NYC. Michael has been cited in leading industry trades such as PR Week and Ad Age, as well as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and People Magazine regarding media relations strategies. He has served as a final judge and room moderator for the Effie Awards, which recognize effectiveness of integrated advertising and communication campaigns, and various advisory boards for professional and student organizations, including at his alma mater, Purdue University. Earlier in his career, Michael was deputy general manager at Edelman, worked for leading health-related professional and trade organizations, and produced daily news features for CBS. 

USA
Stephanie Sciandra
Associate Creative Director Situation Interactive
ABOUT

Stephanie Sciandra

Stephanie Sciandra is an Associate Creative Director at Situation – a digital agency best known for helping brands build passionate communities through digital-first marketing strategies. Over the past decade, she has worked with some of the biggest names in live entertainment, arts and culture, television, and social good.

With a deep understanding of fandoms ranging from musicals to Marvel, Stephanie has spearheaded digital strategies for many notable clients including One World Observatory, New York City Center, Ad Council’s "Love Has No Labels”, NBCU Cable Entertainment Group, and Broadway hits like Mean Girls and the 2017 Tony Award® and 2018 GRAMMY Award® winner, Dear Evan Hansen.

Her work has won awards at the Webby Awards, Creativity International Awards, Shorty Awards, Communicator Awards, and the Internet Advertising Competition. Prior to Situation, Stephanie spent time at Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Drama Desk Award®-winning TADA! Youth Theater, and the New Victory Theatre.

As a graduate of NYU, she is proud to advocate for arts education, accessibility, and empowerment throughout New York and New Jersey. In her spare time, you’ll find Stephanie testing a new recipe in her kitchen, catching a concert in her favorite NY/NJ venues, or working with the Woodbridge Community Players in her hometown.

Canada
Heather Segal
Group Strategy Director Zulu Alpha Kilo
ABOUT

Heather Segal

Heather has always been curious about what makes people do what they do and has been digging into consumer behaviour for almost 20 years as an account lead, qualitative market researcher and strategic planner for brands across North America. Heather’s strategic work has inspired business transformational communications that has been internationally recognized at creative and effectiveness awards, including the Effies and Cannes.

CANADA
Martin Strazovec
Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer AHLOT
ABOUT

Martin Strazovec

As the former VP, Chief Creative Officer at Canopy Growth, Martin was responsible for evolving the full suite of brands, including Tweed, Bedrocan, Mettrum, Craft Grow, and Leafs By Snoop – which launched in Canada under his creative leadership – as well as helping to develop markets in Europe and South America.

Martin has spent over two decades in the creative departments of multinational ad agencies. As EVP, Chief Creative Officer of Draft Canada, he helped build an innovative company that received the Direct Agency of the Year award two years in a row. He also led the digital creative for Virgin Mobile’s launch in Canada, the most successful national launch to date, according to Sir Richard Branson (Dickie to his pals).

Some client highlights: Apple, FedEx, HSBC Bank USA, Pfizer, Sprint Canada, Macy’s, Amex, Nestlé Purina, Grand & Toy, ING Direct, Sony Store, E*Trade, Mercedes-Benz, HP, Whirlpool/Amana, Air Miles, and Canada Post. Martin is the recipient of over a hundred Canadian and U.S. awards for work he has influenced.

Since joining AHLOT in September 2017, his first major marketing concept and ad campaign was the Cannabis Curation Committee national recruitment drive, which generated over 25,000 applicants in 30 days (one per minute during the first two weeks), generating over 167 million impressions and over 200 news media stories on every continent (except Antarctica). Perhaps not surprising with the headline, "Cannabis company paying people $50 an hour to smoke weed."

In his spare time, he maintains an ever-changing guitar collection, and has even learned to play a little.

USA
Patricia Swindle
Founder The Loring Partnership Marketing Consultancy
ABOUT

Patricia Swindle

Patricia Swindle is is a C-Suite marketing and brand consultant. 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 and McDonald's using omni-channel approaches to brand storytelling that change consumer behaviors, build audiences and deliver measurable results. I am driven by the desire to build teams, inspire imagination and create consensus across all stakeholders and partners.

Her passion includes teaching Integrated Marketing at the University of Chicago Graham School where she emphasizes the power of modern technologies and media to increase customer engagement, market response and measurable effectiveness.

USA
Marialejandra Urbina
Chief Strategy Officer Dieste
ABOUT

Marialejandra Urbina

Marialejandra is Chief Strategy Officer for Dieste, US. She oversees Dieste planning group in Dallas, New York and Los Angeles.

Marialejandra leads all data, insights, cultural intelligence, and research efforts at Dieste. Her experience working around Latin America and with the U.S. Hispanic consumer gives her a broad vision of the diversity of Latin cultures and their specific nuances. Her passion for understanding humans and their relationships has led her to pursue a Master’s in Social Anthropology.

With more than 25 years of experience in strategic planning, Marialejandra has been involved in the development of marketing communication for companies in various industries including 3M, Chiclets Adams, Ford Motor Company, Mattel, Nestle, SAB Miller/AB InBev, The Coca-Cola Company and Warner Lambert.

Marialejandra was included in the Advertising Age Women to Watch list for Colombia, and her insights and contribution to the Demobilization Humanitarian Program of the Colombia Ministry of Defense campaign led to recognition not only for its creativity, but also as the first and only Grand Prix in the region from IPA (2011). This campaign has also been awarded for its strategy and effectiveness, winning a Grand Prix APG, the Jay Chiat Grand Prix 2011 and Grand Prix El Dorado Effectiveness 2014 as well as more than 10 Gold Effie Awards.

 

USA
Amy Winger
Global Client Lead, Intel VMLY&R
ABOUT

Amy Winger

In her role as CSO Winger leads a multi-discipline strategy group of data fiends, insight hunters, and strategic masterminds who are in relentless pursuit of the truth about humanity and culture.

In her 20 year career at VML she’s worked with brands ranging from cereal to software. Her happiest days at the office are spent with teams of unruly geniuses gathered at a whiteboard, creating ideas that will have an outsize impact on brands and the world.

Amy grew up, professionally speaking, in New York’s start up scene then known as Silicon Alley, where the first generation of community and content-based web experiences were born.

Amy is a graduate of Cornell College with a Bachelor of Special Studies in Writing and American Studies.