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Our 2025 Judge Chairs

Group 1 - Disciplines
Sophie is a brand marketing leader with over 15 years’ experience in managing global beauty and personal care brands in the UK and Europe. She is currently Head of Wilkinson Sword, where she recently led a complete re-positioning of the 250-year-old brand and currently oversees strategy, product development and communications for the brand across all territories. Previously she spent 10 years at NIVEA, where she delivered award-winning product launches, led sustainability strategy and created some of NIVEA's most exciting advertising campaigns in the UK market. Sophie is passionate about developing young talent within marketing and has coached many young marketers in their development to become successful marketing managers.

Sophie Rock – Head of Brand – Wilkinson Sword

Best use of PR
Starting with Whitbread in marketing research, I moved to a succession of agencies specialising in shopper and retail activation and design. I even had my own hybrid retail marketing & research agency for 8 years. Working globally for many massive brands and retailers my focus was on the person at the centre of it all, the consumer, the shopper, the buyer. What will make them change their behaviour? After 7 years with LEGO, firstly in the internal agency, followed by developing and launching their new retail platform, I moved to Hamleys, and for the last two years have been Global Chief Experience Officer, across 200 stores worldwide.

Paul Porter – Global Head of Experience – Hamleys

Best use of Brand Experience
Jonathan is the global lead for Don Papa Rum, the premium Filipino rum brand recently acquired by Diageo PLC. Previously, Jonathan has worked on global giants such as Oreo, Belvita, Nivea and Captain Morgan, across a blend of global, regional and local roles; both in the UK and internationally.

Jonathan Holden – Global Head – Don Papa Rum

Best use of Media
Claire is a passionate globally experienced strategic & creative marketeer. Currently Head of Brands at International Beverage, managing 6 brands in her portfolio, across Scottish whisky and gin. Before landing into her dream category, she was previously leading the charge on Lurpak as Senior Global Equity Lead at Arla Foods and took Lurpak to its highest ever equity and RSV across 105 markets. Now returned to her Scottish roots after years in Yorkshire and Denmark, Claire is focused on delivering impactful branded growth at International Beverage through global marketing excellence, unlocking meaningful, differentiated & salient positionings and ensuring to always have consumer at the core.

Claire Irvine – Head of Brands – International Beverage

Best Shopper Campaign
Justin Pearse is Editor of New Digital Age and a Co-Founder of Bluestripe Group, a diversified media business offering communications, content and media products for the media, advertising and technology industries. Justin has worked in the digital media industry for over twenty years, with roles spanning journalism, branded content and PR. He has appeared regularly on television, radio and in the national press as an expert on digital media, from BBC’s Newsnight to Channel 4 news and the national press. He founded and ran the award-winning Drum Studios, the branded content arm of The Drum, before joining Digiday to launch its creative content agency Custom in Europe. Previous to the Drum, Justin spent two years as Associate Director at content, community and communications agency Bite. Before this, Justin was a journalist for 16 years, working at titles including IT Week and ZDNet, ending up as Editor of New Media Age where he spent 12 years in total. Justin sat on the board of trade body BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) and acted as a member of the IAB Content Council.

Justin Pearse – Editor – New Digital Age

Best Digital Product
Group 2 - Craft
Lucy is the GB Marketing Director for AG BARR, the multi beverage company that owns IRN-BRU, Rubicon, BOOST and FUNKIN. Lucy has spent her marketing career in FMCG, specifically the drinks sector and has held UK and Global leadership roles for Heineken, C&C and now AG BARR. She is a huge sponsor of Diversity & Inclusion and seeks to push a people first agenda in every role and organisation she works with. She is on the Advisory Board for the Marketing Society - Scotland.

Lucy Henderson – Marketing Director – AG Barr

Best Idea / Concept
Alessandro leads the brand direction for Wimbledon, shaping how the world sees and connects with one of sport’s most iconic stages. With over a decade of experience across in-house and agency roles, he combines strong creative instinct with a hands-on approach to building standout, relevant work.

Alessandro Perottoni – Creative Lead – Wimbledon

Best use of Art Direction & Design
Mat O’Brien is Head of Creative at AB inBev. He has worked alongside senior leadership to build and develop their in-house, integrated, creative agency offering. Prior to this, Mat was Executive Creative Director at Three Mobile and Senior Creative Director at VCCP Good Relations. He has over 10 years senior management experience overseeing and mentoring creative roles at every level, with a proven track record in launching and evolving departments and growing agencies. His work has been recognised at both national and international award shows for both creativity and effectiveness. He is also an accomplished producer and director creating visual art and media for bands and artists.

Mat O’Brien – Head of Creative – AB inBev

Best use of Copy
Group 3 - Sectors
Lucas is Global Marketing Director at Wise, one of the UK’s most successful fintech companies, leading growth initiatives across 5 key markets around the world. He has over 20 years’ experience working on major household brands in FMCG, Financial Services and Automotive and most recently launched Cazoo from scratch to over 85% awareness in the UK.

Lucas Bergmans – Global Marketing Director – Wise

Best Specialist Sector
Kate Mackie is a partner at EY, where she leads Global Marketing. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, alumnus of the Institute for Real Growth and member of the Marketing Society where she was nominated as one of 2023’s Most Influential Marketers. With 20+ years' experience, she sits on panels selecting best brands, awarding agency accolades and ensuring marketing excellence has B2B representation. She is also a mentor for entry level marketers and a guest lecturer at Cambridge Judge Business School.

Kate Mackie – Global Marketing Lead | Partner – EY

Best B2B Campaign
Lisa Johnstone is a recognised leader in customer loyalty and engagement, currently serving as Director of Priority, Loyalty & Rewards at Virgin Media O2. She oversees Priority, the award-winning loyalty programme for O2 mobile and Virgin Media broadband customers, delivering exclusive perks, VIP experiences, and substantial value—with estimated savings of £500 per customer. Lisa’s strategic vision continues to evolve Priority with innovative initiatives that optimise customer lifetime value and strengthen brand loyalty. With a career spanning global entertainment, gaming, and media brands—including Activision Blizzard King, Sky in the UK and Ireland, and Foxtel in Australia—Lisa brings a wealth of international experience to her role. Her expertise in designing and leading loyalty programmes for diverse markets has made her a respected thought leader in the industry. As Category Chair for Best B2C Campaign at the Independent Agency Awards, Lisa brings her deep marketing expertise and passion for customer-centric innovation to the judging panel, championing campaigns that set new standards for creativity, effectiveness, and impact in the B2C space.

Lisa Johnstone – Director Priority, Loyalty & Rewards – Virgin Media O2

Best B2C Campaign
Walk into any major city around the world and you are sure to see and buy a brand that Ash has worked on; he’s built brands in six of the seven continents across a range of sectors from retail, FMCG and entertainment. His brand and marketing experience spans some of the world’s biggest businesses from Coca-Cola, Vodafone, LEGOLAND to Unilever. He’s motivated by growing people, brands and long-term commercial growth and led the development of award-winning creative campaigns, launching new innovations, building new world-first tech-led experiences to partnering with amazing brands such as Ferrari, James Bond, Peppa Pig, and Minecraft. He’s also a guest lecturer at the London Business School for over two years.

Ash Tailor – Former VP Global Brand & Marketing – Legoland

Best Retail Campaign
Rebecca (Becks) Martin has over 18 years’ experience in the brand, marketing and partnerships industry having worked for both fast-paced agencies, such as Fuse Sport & Entertainment and Pitch Marketing Group, as well as for blue-chip brands, such as Barclays and O2. Becks is currently Director, Head of Sponsorship Governance, Strategy and Planning at Barclays and has been implementing marketing strategies across sport and entertainment during her career, gaining ExCo approval from brands such as Carlsberg, Renault, TSB, Gallagher, cinch and O2 which have all resulted in driving brand, business and commercial outcomes. Becks is also on the Board of the European Sponsorship Association and a Trustee of The Change Foundation.

Rebecca Martin – Director, Head of Sponsorship Governance, Strategy & Planning – Barclays

Best Entertainment, Leisure and Travel Campaign
Louisa joined Age UK in January 2024 and leads on brand, marketing and all of Age UK’s corporate communications. Louisa is an experienced marketing, brand and communications expert and has held from roles across the charity, public, and private sectors. Her charity experience includes media, marketing, and communication roles at the NSPCC, British Heart Foundation and RNIB. She was Head of Media and Communications for BBC Sport for over a decade, as well as spending seven years as Director of Communications for the FA. She also spent four years at Pitch as Client Services Director. She is also a board member of Team England Trust.

Louisa Fyans – Chief Brand & Communications Officer – Age UK

Best 'Not-for-Profit' Campaign
Rahul brings over 20 years of Sales and Marketing expertise across diverse sectors. He began his career at AkzoNobel with the Dulux brand and has since held pivotal roles at Unilever, Mondelez, Heinz, and General Mills. Rahul has spearheaded marketing efforts for iconic brands including Surf, belVita, Heinz Beanz, Yoplait, and Ambrosia. Notably, Rahul played a key role in transforming the UK into a nation of breakfast biscuit enthusiasts, making belVita one of the most remarkable success stories from an established FMCG giant. A staunch advocate for consumer-first branding, he also led the reformulation of kids' yogurt, significantly reducing sugar content—a milestone acknowledged in Parliament. A strategic and creative commercial marketer, Rahul is passionate about driving results through great ideas. From creating beloved brand mascots for Surf (Unilever) and Ambrosia (Premier Foods) to reviving the Frubes characters in collaboration with Aardman Animations and repositioning Brands like Petits Filous in the Uk and Maguary in Brazil, his innovative spirit has consistently pushed boundaries. He has also delivered impactful partnerships and experiences with companies like Amazon and Acast. Currently, Rahul is part of the Global Concentrates and Hydration+ team at Britvic, where he focuses on breakthrough innovations for markets like UK&I , France and Brazil. In his role he champions exceptional strategy, creative excellence, and the role of innovation, delivering compelling brand ideas for Robinsons, MiWadi, Teisseire, and Maguary.

Rahul Gursahani – Global Marketing Lead Hydration+ – Britvic

Best International Campaign
With an impressive career spanning almost 20 years across the media and sports sector, Katerina has held senior roles at Formula 1, Liverpool FC and CNN International, working with some of the most prestigious and forward-thinking businesses and governments across EMEA, Asia and America. Her leadership roles have been focused on developing and activating innovative global partnerships and brand solutions across a broad portfolio of assets and platforms. Most recently, Katerina has taken on various advisory roles with entities including UN Women UK.

Katarina Tornari – Partnerships Advisor UK (Volunteer) – UN Women

Best Purpose Driven Campaign
Benazir has 20 years of FMCG experience on some of Britain’s biggest and most loved household brands, including Cadbury, Dairylea and McVitie’s. After a 17-year career at Mondelez across brand equity, communications, innovation and commercial roles, Benazir has moved to become the Marketing Director at pladis, with a portfolio of indulgent and permissible biscuit brands to grow.

Benazir Barlet-Batada – Marketing Director – Pladis Global

Best FMCG Campaign
Special Awards
Award-winning Creative Director and Brand Strategist turned Agency Group Founder, CEO, and Growth Advisor. I help leaders unthink their category, outthink their competition, and rethink their business. From founding a UK Top 10 creative agency and leading and exiting a c. £60m revenue agency group with my partners, to co-founding Common Thread — an independent agency group scaling fast across the UK — I’ve worked with brands from Apple to David Beckham, and John Lewis to Ovo Energy. Creator of BRAVO, the 90-day agency transformation programme. Investor, NED, speaker, and speaker and advocate for topics including, creativity, neurodiversity, mental health and addiction. Currently Creative Chair of the Alliance of Independent Agencies .

Gellen Watt – Group Chair and NED – Common Thread Group

Freedom Awards
Gill has worked in leadership positions within the media, communications and marketing industry. Her knowledge, expertise and holistic experience of the marketing community ensures she’s a proven connector in the marketing world. Gill leads Ingenuity+ overseeing all client relationships and projects. Before joining Ingenuity+ she led Oystercatchers supporting senior marketing leaders and brands in finding their perfect agency partner such as John Lewis Partnership, The AA and The Very Group. Prior to this she was Chief Client Officer of Posterscope, PSI, and MKTG; Marketing & Communications Director at Starcom MediaVest Group. Gill began her career working in media planning and client management where she worked with iconic brands Heineken, McDonald’s, Boots UK and Peugeot at agencies including OMD and Vizeum. Gill is a proud member of WACL and served on the Executive Board as Honorary Secretary. She’s a member of the MSc Strategic Marketing Advisory Board at Imperial College Business School. Gill is a keen supporter of NABS, she Co-Chairs NABS Stranger Than Summer Committee and is part of NABS’ 100 Club of senior industry leaders.

Gill Huber – Managing Director – Ingenuity+

MAD//Fest Female Leaders Club
Lorraine Jennings-Creed is director of wellbeing services and culture change at NABS, overseeing the strategic development of its Mindsets for Managers programme and range of workshops and essential services. Responding to the needs of our industry, Lorraine is passionate about advancing mental wellness across all sectors of the advertising, media and marketing community, to ensure individuals and companies alike are able to thrive. Lorraine is also part of the timeTo initiative to eradicate sexual harassment and wrote and developed its Code of Conduct and over sees the strategic development of the training products.

Lorraine Jennings – Director of Wellbeing Services & Culture Change – NABS

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