LIA unveils jury presidents and juries; Kiwi creatives and expats named to global line-up
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.
Representing New Zealand on the juries is Gary Steele, Chief Creative Officer of McCann New Zealand who will sit on the Audio & Radio jury and Lee-Ann Morris, CEO of MBM Auckland who will sit on the Creativity In Media jury.
Kiwi expats who also feature on juries include Maria Devereux, Executive Creative Director / Head of Innovation, Accenture Song, Los Angeles who has been selected as a juror for the Evolution, Gaming and Creative Use of Data category and Duncan Killick, Head of Creative at Special PR, London who will sit on the Creativity In PR jury.
Clockwise from top left: Gary Steele, Lee-Ann Morris, Duncan Killick and Maria Devereux
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