Innovative, award-winning, strategic, visionary, and influential are words used to describe these prominent leaders who lend their creative insights, industry expertise, and global perspective to the AME Awards. The Advisory Council’s guidance infuses AME with the added agility required to provide a world-wide platform that encourages and celebrates effectiveness in the ever-changing world of advertising and brand building.
Caio Barsotti holds a degree in History and Geography and a post-graduate degree in Marketing from ESPM-Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing. He has worked in Brazilian agencies such as Salles, Almap and DPZ, and in vehicles such as Lance newspaper, Rádio Scala FM, TV Sorocaba (SBT TV affiliate) and Yahoo.
Between 2003 and 2006, at the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, he held the position of Secretary of Integrated Communication of SECOM-Secretariat of Social Communication, developing the activities of coordination and supervision of government agencies´ advertising. During this period, he was a Board member of ABA-Brazilian Association of Advertisers as Vice-President.
He was a member of the Board of Directors of Brasilprev between 2006 and 2009.
In 2006 he took over the commercial board of the 8 television stations of Rede Paranaense de Comunicação-RPC (Globo TV Affiliates), from where he left to join CENP-Executive Council of Standard Rules, a private entity that promotes and ensures the best commercial practices in the advertising market, ensuring the existence and competitiveness of its agents (advertisers, agencies and vehicles), regardless of their size and resources.
He is currently President of CENP, helping companies to understand the legal and conventional standards to conduct business in a safe, transparent, fast environment and compliance with the Standard Standards of Advertising Activity.
Mick Blore is the CEO of Wolves, an independent Marketing, Advertising and Strategic agency in South Africa.
He has more than 20 years of experience in the industry and has creatively led many of the world’s best agencies and network across Africa; including McCann Worldgroup, Y&R, Saatchi & Saatchi, The Jupiter Drawing Room JHB and more.
Mick is one of South Africa's most awarded creative's with multiple accolades from around the world. His work has been featured in university texbooks in the USA, he regularly lectures at South Africa's leading advertising schools and universities, and he sits on various industry forums. The work Mick did on Nugget Shoe Polish became the most awarded campaign in the history of South African Advertising in any medium in its time.
Mick has also represented Africa as a member of the Executive Juries of the prestigious Clios and New York Festival Awards, and has also judged the London International Advertising Awards, the APEX Effectiveness Awards, as well as the South African Loeries Awards, amongst others.
He is the only South African to be invited to sit on The Global Advisory Boards of the New York Festivals and AME Awards.
Mick has been featured by The One Show, the Who’s Who of Lürzers Archive, and is a member of the Who's Who of Southern Africa initiative.
Nicky Bullard is the Group Chief Creative Officer for MullenLowe Group UK. She was the first creative woman to become chair of a UK marketing agency, that being multi award-winning MRM//McCann in London. Creatively recognized across nearly all the major shows, Nicky thinks she’s probably worked across every media and sector - but direct and digital are where her heart lies. She’s been writing professionally for 30 years and despite running a huge operation, she also keeps her hand in writing and ideating as often as she can. She is a fierce champion of the customer and believes insight is all. She is also hugely passionate about effectiveness - it’s only great work if it works.
Nicky says that the campaign of her career is the one we’re all living right now, the campaign for equality. Nicky has been featured in the Financial Times HERoes list for the last two years.
Pully Chau received an ”Outstanding contribution award” honored by China Ad Association during its recent 40 years celebration.
Spanning over last decades, Pully has been a great client partner to build brands; to transform and cultivate INTEGRATED creative organisations; and to help solve issues and crisis in this ever-changing world. She maintains a clear vision of the big picture.
As a relentless game changer, Pully led the peak performance of Saatchi & Saatchi Great Wall China for 10 years (2000-2010); built Olay as a lovemark portfolio brand for Chinese women; and groomed many top talents. She turned around the visibility and unprofitable situations for DraftFcb Greater China (2011- 2014). As Cheil WW’s Greater China Group CEO (2015-2021) she led to lift the standard of its multi-disciplines, media & digital marketing teams to become China’s hottest agency top 5 by Campaign Brief (2013/214) and got its first 6 Cannes Lions. She also led the win of Volkswagen global brand assignments, Nissan Infiniti, and Coke’s Winter Olympics torch relay, enriching Cheil’s client portfolio beyond Korean brands.
Her motto is: Manifest the future with our admirable motivations and unwavering determination.
Pully’s judging experiences:
Jury President, PR Spikes Awards 2022
Final Jury, Glass Lions, Cannes 2021
Final Jury, Industry Craft Lions, Cannes 2019
Final Jury, Marketing Effectiveness Lions, Cannes 2013
President, Effie Awards Greater China (2014/2015/2016)
Gordon was born 1978 – coincidentally the last year his beloved footballclub won the championship in Germany. He spend as much time at university as he could ending up with a PhD at the University of Cambridge. Since then he works in advertising developing strategies for brands across Germany, Europe and sometimes even the globe always aiming to make brands part of popculture. He also published extensively in the Journal of Brand Management, the German Harvard Business Review, McKinsey’s Akzente and more. Today he is Head of Planning of BBDO in Germany.”
As BCW’s Chief Creative Officer, Fede Garcia is responsible for driving powerful and provocative creative and expanding the agency’s bench of creative talent worldwide. A copywriter by training, Fede is renowned for big ideas that challenge convention, inspire delight and provoke action. With strategic rigor, a global perspective, and a track record of game-changing ideas, Fede helps BCW move people in unexpected and fascinating ways.
A native of Argentina, Fede’s 25-year career in advertising has spanned roles in Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and New York. Fede spent four years with Huge, most recently as Global Executive Creative Director, with creative oversight of the agency’s Brooklyn headquarters and key global accounts. Before that, he was Group Creative Director at Translation in New York, where he worked on the NFL, History Channel and HBO, among others. Prior to this, he spent four years with Ogilvy Tokyo, where he oversaw the creative development of celebrated campaigns for many of the agency’s premier accounts, including Coca-Cola, American Express, IBM, Citizen and more.
Fede’s work has been recognized by the Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clios, Effies and London International Awards among many others, and it has been featured in news outlets around the world such as USA Today, The Washington Post, The Mirror, The Independent, Fox, People Magazine, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Business of Fashion, Business Insider and many more. He’s also a member of the Advisory Board of the New York Festivals and the AME Festivals, and has sat on the jury of numerous award shows.
She is the Chairmom® and founder of The Misfits Camp, the first-ever safe space for the creative neurodiverse. As Dentsu Asia Pacific’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion lead in 2021 and 2022, her work on diversity and inclusion in advertising has positively impacted the industry.
Today, she finished her studies at the Resources for Educational and Allied Consultancy Habitat, Inc. for courses on Autism, she has helped to create a more inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome and valued and has given a platform for diverse voices to be heard and represented.
The 2019 Drum Global Ranking announced the top 100 Chief Creative Officers globally; only eight women were on the list. One of them is Merlee Jayme.
She was recognized with the Hall of Fame Award by the 4As Creative Guild, The New York Festivals Creative Achievement Award, and the CEO of the Year by the International Association of Business Communicators.
She was the first to be awarded the SEA Creative of the Year by Campaign Asia in 2013, The Asian Marketing Federation Woman Marketer of the Year in 2019, and the Campaign Asia’s Women Leading Change Women’s Advancement Champion for her creative work for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in 2022.
This 2023, she is the 4As of the Philippines Lifetime Achievement Awardee.
Her work pushes Insights and innovation and inspires creative collaboration.
As Dentsu Jayme Syfu and Dentsu One Manila’s Chairmom®, she won major awards, including a Cannes Lion, Grand Prix for Mobile, Gold and Silver Lions for outdoor, and Grand CLIO, LIAA, The One Show, and yellow D&AD pencils.
She is the author of three books: “Everyone can be creative” a handbook about nurturing your inner creativity, “Chairmom®” a book on balancing Mommyhood and career ambition; and “Create Different” the first-ever mind book to assess an Autistic Adult’s creative talent.
She is one of CNN’s Leading Women, a mom to 4 creative girls, and an inspiration in breaking the glass ceiling in this mad men’s world.
Renowned for his integrity and leadership, Kandeban Balendran (Kandee) is a corporate business leader, entrepreneur, marketer, academic and one of the most celebrated media personalities of Sri Lanka.
An Alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School, MBA from Victoria University, Australia and an alumnus of the Creative Leadership Programme at Berlin School of Creative Leadership.
Over the past two decades, Kandee has been a pioneer in the world of media, marketing, and advertising in both Sri Lanka and India. Moving out of corporate career, Kandee wanted to create opportunities for young future makers through education reform, technology, creativity and innovations.
Founded the Academics Group, the first cross-sector education think-tank in Sri Lanka together with his wife Vidhya Kandeban, launched the world’s most awarded advertising school Miami Ad School in Sri Lanka and started EMBRAX, a New Age/ New Era Creative, Digital and Marketing Solutions Company – all in year 2020.
He was the former CEO & Director of Sparks Sri Lanka, a fully integrated Creative, Media, Advertising and Digital Marketing Company, CEO of Brandcom (Former Rediffusion Y&R Sri Lanka) and also the Celebrity Host of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in Sri Lanka and The Socio-Political Show “Minnal” Prime Time Show.
He was also the former Marketing & Sales Director of MTV Channels Network in Sri Lanka, Director, Business Development of MBC Radio Networks, Digital Head of MTV & MBC Networks, Channel Head of Shakthi FM, Head of Sales MTV & Shakthi TV, Head of AAHAA 91.9 FM, NBC, India.
Kandee was also the mastermind behind many successful campaigns which includes #LoveLifeHIV Awareness Campaign, #SafeRoadsSri Lanka – a National Road Safety Project, Diabetes Free Sri Lanka, “Fight Dengue. Save Lives” Campaign which reached out to millions around the country. He is currently spearheading #SafeChildSriLanka, an yearlong National Child Safety Campaign together with the Pediatric College of Sri Lanka.
He was interviewed and twice featured by the Harvard Business School, and was also featured titled “Dreamer” among selected young global leaders who are making a difference around the world. Kandee was listed among the 20 most inspiring young global leaders as part of #FutureChasers campaign by the government of Australia, recognized by Austrade with the Australian Alumni Excellence Award for Business Administration and Leadership, Young Alumni Achiever Award winner of Victoria University, listed among 10 most influential young global leaders of Tamil Community by Canada based TC magazine, and he is the first Sri Lankan to be on the Grand Jury panel of both New York Festival’s Radio Awards since 2012 and AME Awards for Marketing Effectiveness since 2018.
Zak started his career at Chiat/Day and BBDO. In 1999, he joined TAXI and helped build the agency into one of the top shops on the Gunn report. Over the past decade, Zak has been busy building Zulu Alpha Kilo into a globally awarded 110-person independent. In 2016, his shop was named Ad Age’s Small Agency of the Year, the first time a non-U.S. agency had ever won overall top honours. Zulu was also awarded as Ad Age’s International Small Agency of the Year in 2017. Most recently, Zak was featured in the May and April issues of Forbes magazine after Zulu was recognized as one of North America’s best small companies and praised for challenging the business conventions of the industry. Zak has both judged and been awarded at the One Show, D&AD, Cannes and Communication Arts.
Tahaab Rais is the first Chief Strategy Officer for Publicis Groupe in the region.
I enjoy strategy, data, ideas, effectiveness and innovation - and develop winning teams and future leaders. The company that I lead the Strategy Office for, across MENAT, is consistently ranked among the top agencies in the world for its effectiveness and strategic thinking. And my teams are stars. I also drive the company's creative excellence ambitions through initiatives and trainings.
The challenge of finding THE right solution for businesses makes me tick. Inquisitive about people - their differences, attitudes and beliefs - and the joy of helping people and brands be happier, excites me.
I possess strategic, creative consultancy, integrated marketing, data analysis and leadership experience spanning MEAT and Asia, covering Business and Data Strategy; Brand, Content and Digital Strategy; Cross-channel Integrated Solutions; Relationship Marketing and Customer Experience Management.
Enjoying being creative, I'm practical with technology and the constantly evolving world of the web. I'm anti-theory. Making things happen excites me. And the results achieved are a testament to my drive.
I've worked on Finance, Insurance, Telecommunications, FMCG, Luxury, Travel & Tourism, Retail, Automotive, Petroleum, Entertainment, Real Estate brands across MEA and Asia-PAC., such as HSBC, HSBC Amanah, Coca-Cola, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, Mastercard, Sony, Nokia, J&J, Kraft, Nestle, Kit Kat, Reckitt, Dettol, Unilever, OMO, Knorr, AXE, Jif, Lipton, Ford, Arla Foods, Babyshop, Home Centre, L'Oreal, Nike, Harvey Nichols, UAE Government, Majid Al Futtaim, ALDAR, Microsoft, AstraZeneca, al hilal bank, Babyshop, Home Centre, Ferrari World, Qatar Petroleum, Shell, Egypt Tourism Authority, Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Jawwy, SABB, SABB Amanah, Ooredoo, Aspire, Orange, Boubyan Bank, Bank Muscat, Meethaq, Castrol, Hindustan Petroleum, Exide, Marico, Atlantis and Taj Hotels, among others.
The work has enhanced the agencies' reputation across Cannes, Effies, D&AD, Andy's, Clios, Jay Chiats, WARC, Dubai Lynx, One Show, Loeries, London International Awards, Webby's, New York Festivals, Gerety, Caples, AdFest, AdStars, AME, among others. My strategy team members are some of the most awarded ones in the world for strategy, and I'm the most awarded CSO from MENAT.
Besides being a CSO, I'm also a globally awarded film director and songwriter, and you can view my work on: https://vimeo.com/tahaab
Aside from work, I create ideas to help solve societal problems as an individual through my own personal non-profit venture. And I speak worldwide on creativity.
Alex Schill was born with a Canadian passport and studied at the University of Fine Arts in Berlin. In 1994 he started his career at Germanys former hot shop agency No.1 Springer & Jacoby as junior copywriter and was asked in 2003 to lead the agency as Chief Creative Officer. In 2006, Alex left Springer & Jacoby to become Associate Partner and Member of the Board at Serviceplan Group.
Since 2008 he is Chief Creative Officer of the entire agency group worldwide. He is presently in charge of more than 24 agency locations and 4.200 employees globally.
In just five years Alex Schill brought Serviceplan to the front row in national and international creative rankings. In 2016 the agency ended up No.1 in the German Creative Ranking (Horizont), No.1 in the Digital Ranking (BVDW), No.1 in the Media Ranking (Recma), No. 1 in the Design Ranking (Red Dot) and No. 1 in the Efficiency Ranking (w&v).
In recent years Alex has won more than 75 Cannes Lions, including two Grands Prix in 2012 and 2013 and is a regular speaker on the international creative awards circuit. He has given keynote speeches at Cannes, Eurobest, Dubai Lynx and the Loerie Awards and also been Jury president at Cannes Lions, CLIO, Eurobest, LIA and at the D&AD.
Alex is a proud Father of 3 beautiful children and collector of historic motorcycles that he races on events all around the world.
As CEO of TBWA\WorldHealth Robin prides herself on bringing disruptive thinking to some of the world’s most ambitious healthcare brands. In her 25+ years she has launched over 50 global brands for companies ranging from start-ups such as Moderna and Bluebird to pharma giants like Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, and Merck.
A creative leader at heart, Robin has a passion for helping clients crystalize their vision and bring their company’s story to the world. She considers herself chief culture officer and has created a strong values-based culture where sustainable inclusion thrives from the inside out. In the past five years, TBWA\WorldHealth has been recognized twice as Med Ad News DEI Champion and twice as Agency of the Year.
Robin served as Cannes Lions Pharma Jury President in 2021 after serving on the Pharma Jury in 2019. Prior to Cannes Lions, Robin Chaired the Global Awards where she created innovative programs like Young Globals with the goal of attracting the next generation of creative leaders to consider a career in healthcare advertising.
Robin’s side hustle is giving back to her community by volunteering as a mentor with Waukegan to College, an organization dedicated to helping school students realize their dream of attending a 4-year college or university. One of her mentees was awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship.
Robin’s 3 children— Aaron (31), Bennett (27), and Maddie (22)— and her husband, Harlan (bigger number), make her laugh every day and remind her of what’s really important.
Ruchi Sharma is the Founder & Chief Creative Officer for HumanSense, Sri Lanka. Previously she served as CCO, Chief Creative & Culture officer, of Brands For Humans, which is a digital, integrated independent shop in Bangkok, Thailand. It’s a unique role that has a dual focus on Creativity and Culture.
Ruchi’s career spans more than two decades, working in New York, the Americas, Bangkok, South East Asia, Mumbai and Sri Lanka.
She has won several international, regional and local awards in creativity and effectiveness, proving that her work resonates equally on both scales.
Ruchi has served on many international juries. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, mentoring and encouraging the young talent of the industry, especially the women, to tap into their tremendous potential.
She is a staunch supporter of inclusion, diversity and equality. She co-created the first digital global campaign on Human Rights for the UNHRC and volunteers as a Personal Growth Officer with Women Empowered Global.
When she isn’t juggling her many hats, Ruchi is playing devoted mom to her five-year-old son. This is the job she enjoys the most.
Dörte Spengler-Ahrens, previoulsy CCO is now Non-Executive Creative Chairwoman at Jung von Matt. In her new position, Dörte will focus on group-wide tasks and consult her long-standing clients. She will use her newfound freedom to contribute to the continuous development of the JvM Group's creative product. Together with JvM CCO's she will promote creative innovation throughout the JvM Group, champion gender equality, seek out creative talent within and outside JvM and take on mentorship roles for the next generation
Dörte studied Visual Communications and started her career as an Art Director before switching to copywriting.
After working in several agencies, she went to work at Jung von Matt where she became a Creative Director after only three years.
In 2000, she founded her own company MARIA.
Dörte returned 2002 to Jung von Matt to set the agency JvM/Spree in Berlin with two partners and became a partner and share holder.
After that, she launched the first international branch called Jung von Matt/9 and several other Jung von Matt companies (JvM/Pulse, JvM/Fleet, JvM/Elbe) working for all big JvM clients including BMW, BVG, Mercedes-Benz, NETTO, NIVEA, Sixt, Zalando, etc.
In November 2016, she founded Jung von Matt/SAGA -which stands for Spengler-Ahrens-Giest-Agency- with Managing Partner Stephan Giest.
Dörte is one of the most awarded German creatives, long term Committee Chairwoman and now Vicepresident of the Art Director’s Club (ADC), curator of the ADC Festival and Congress Hamburg, Advisory Board Member of the D&AD and New York Festival, as well as a juror in all the communication industry’s most important international award juries every year (LIA, Clio, One Show, Cannes, ADC*E).
She was awarded Germany’s Agency Head of the Year 2018, served 2019 besides other juries as Chairwoman and Jury President of the ADC*E Festival.
Doerte has won over 600 awards in her carrier including several Grand Prixs.
She loves her work, only more she loves her husband Tobias Ahrens, her son Bela and the family dog Tyson. She also loves to travel and to meet people – preferably, all at the same time.
Guy’s overseen a series of multi award-winning campaigns across the worlds of consumer and health advertising, including pharma, direct to consumer & public awareness campaigns.
He studied at the UK’s leading advertising creative school, and began his career at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, working on Pepsi, Wrangler Jeans and others. Guy’s campaigns have been recognized for both creativity & effectiveness at award shows worldwide, including Cannes Lions, Clios, EFFIES, D&AD, EPICA Awards, London International Awards, Eurobest, One Show, Creative Circle, Lürzer's Archive, Creative Floor, Global Awards and more.
In 2020, Guy was instrumental in launching IGNITE, a global initiative to promote young & diverse creative talent at McCann Health.
Pratik Thakar is Head of Generative AI / Marketing Transformation Office at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta Georgia.
He held leadership roles in many global ad agencies before joining Coke. His 18 years of industry experience covers stints in India, Southeast Asia and Greater China for Grey Group, McCann Worldgroup, Saatchi & Saatchi, DDB and Lowe.
A strong advocate of creative technology and collaborative innovation, he founded Grey Innovation lab as chief strategy and innovation officer for Grey Group Greater China. Before joining Grey, he was the chief strategy and innovation catalyst at McCann Worldgroup, where he was highly regarded for his integrated creative strategies and disruptive ideas in design, branded content and digital technology-led innovation on brands such as Puma, L’Oréal Group, MasterCard, Nestlé, Intel and Coca-Cola.
He has also served in advisory roles for start-up accelerators throughout Asia Pacific, getting the front row seat to the most cutting-edge technology and innovations of tomorrow. This combination of veteran brand strategy, multi-regional experience, and ahead-of-the-curve innovation places him as a leading voice for creative technology and 10X approach of building high-tech start-ups.
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.