LIA reveals 2026 jury presidents and juries; six Aussies plus expat heavyweights tapped

LIA is bringing together an enviable list of the best creative talent to head the 2026 juries. Judging will be held at Encore @ Wynn Las Vegas from 25th September through 3rd October 2026, and CB will be there as usual to bring you all the winners hot off the blog. The 20 Jury Presidents, along with their respective juries, determine the creative benchmark for 32 categories.

 

The Jury President line-up is a well curated mix of leaders from legacy networks, independent agencies, production and music houses, as well as brands. They are creative luminaries who have helped shaped creativity in the industry with their thinking, talent and imagination.

Australia is strongly represented on this year’s juries, with six local leaders selected across a range of categories:

Ambient & Activation | Billboard | Poster | Print Jury
Ant Melder, Founder / Creative Partner, Cocogun

Digital and Creators & Social Platforms Jury
Louise McQuat, Global ECD, Akcelo

Sports Jury
Stephen de Wolf, National Creative Director, Clemenger BBDO Sydney

Production & Post and Music Video Jury
Kate Gooden, Partner / Executive Producer, Scoundrel

Democracy and Human Rights Jury
Rob Galluzzo, CEO / Founder, FINCH

Entertainment & Content and Cultural Catalyst Jury
Mandie van der Merwe, CCO, Saatchi & Saatchi Australia

Australian talent extends further, with a strong showing of expat creatives also tapped for jury duty, including one Jury President:

Non-Traditional Jury – President
Tara Ford, Chief Creative Officer, Droga5 London

TV & Cinema and Online Film Jury
Samira Ansari, US Chief Creative Officer, Grey New York

Creativity in PR Jury
Laura Petruccelli, Co-Founder / Chief Creative Officer, nice&frank New York

Direct Jury
John Mescall, Global Chief Creative Partner, Dentsu Creative

Evolution, Gaming and Creative Use of Data Jury
Ben Williams, Global Chief Creative Officer, DEPT®

Clockwise from top left: Ant Melder, Louise McQuat, Stephen de Wolf, Samira Ansari, John Mescall and Tara Ford

 

LIA in collaboration with the European Parliament, is the first awards show to debut a Democracy and Human Rights competition. This competition will recognise creative work that actively promotes and strengthens Democratic and Human Rights values around the world. Covering ten different sub-categories, it will honor creative work that promotes and strengthens democratic values around the world – human rights, free expression, fair representation, accountability and essential freedoms that allow democracy to thrive. No work for political parties or political candidates will be eligible for submission.

Each year, LIA assembles the best people, who themselves, are highly awarded creatives, to sit on their jury panels.

Says Christina Shaw, VP – Awards of LIA: “Every one of our Jury Presidents is someone who is extremely respected in the industry. It doesn’t matter if they are part of a network, independent agency or a brand, they have all pushed standards of creativity further ahead with their body of work and creative influence.”

The entry system is now open. For the next two weeks there is a 35% early bird discount off entry fees. This discount expires on 30th April 2026.

All judging will take place onsite, no cursory glances or pre-judging offsite. All Jury Presidents and their jury members evaluate every piece of work within their respective category(s) through all rounds of judging before signing off on the list of winners.

The LIA 2026 Jury Presidents are as follows:

Ambient & Activation | Billboard | Poster | Print
Aaron Starkman, Global Chief Creative Officer and Partner, Rethink Communications

Audio & Radio
Ajay Vikram, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe South East Asia, Singapore

B2B and Business Transformation
Javier Campopiano, Global Chief Creative Officer, Omnicom Advertising

Creative Strategy
Monica Radulescu, Senior Strategy Manager, OLA – Our LEGO® Agency, Copenhagen

Creativity In Media
Dino Myers-Lamptey, Founder, The Barber Shop, London

Creativity In PR
Rachael Sansom, CEO UK & Europe, HAVAS Red

Democracy and Human Rights
Anthony Chelvanathan, Global Creative Partner, Edelman & CCO Edelman Canada

Design and Package Design
Yoshihiro Yagi, Executive Creative Director / Growth Officer, dentsu Japan, Tokyo

Digital and Creators & Social Platforms
Menno Kluin, Global Chief Creative Officer, Iris Worldwide

Direct
Keka Morelle, CCO Latam, OGILVY LATAM

Entertainment & Content and Cultural Catalyst
Geoff Edwards, Managing Director, Creative, GALE, New York

Evolution, Gaming and Creative Use of Data
Marco Venturelli, Global CCO / CEO Leo, CCO / CEO Publicis Conseil,
CCO Publicis Group France

Health & Wellness
Rich Levy, Chief Creative Officer, Klick Health

Health & Wellness-Craft and Pharma-Craft
Marie Julie Gerbauld, Chief Creative Officer, DAVID, São Paulo

Music & Sound
Lucas Mayer, Founder & Global Music Director, DaHouse Audio

Non-Traditional
Tara Ford, Chief Creative Officer, Droga5, London

Pharma
Tim Hawkey, Chief Creative Officer, Area 23, New York

Production & Post and Music Video
Christiane Dressler, Managing Director, Anorak Film, Berlin

Sports
Shannon Washington, Chief Creative Officer, Managing Partner, 11 Ounces, Brooklyn

TV & Cinema and Online Film
Chaka Sobhani, Global Chief Creative Officer, TBWA Worldwide

 

Register for FREE HERE and receive the Campaign Brief Daily Bulletin and/or the global Best Ads Best of the Week Bulletin.              Subscribe to Campaign Brief Magazine.

#More Creative News   #No paywalls   #No annual membership fees

Subscribe to Portfolio & Reel for current listings of Australian and NZ ad agency and production company leadership and key personnel