Connie Chan
Managing Director
MEC Global Solution (APAC)
With 19 years of local and international experience, Connie has a unique career profile in Singapore. She was a founder member of MEC Global Solutions, Asia's first and still the largest and most successful specialist company providing international planning and multi-market management services for regional clients. Global Solutions clients include Citibank, Chevron, Mercedes-Benz, DHL, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Tourism Board, Sony Electronics, and the Economic Development Board of Singapore.
Today her responsibilities include working closely with the region's local market managing directors developing the agency's international clients; driving a culture of client centricity, as well as regional business development. These three areas are key to the continued growth of MEC in Asia Pacific. She is also responsible for driving strategic leadership with a vision to partner our most important clients to drive change that has an impact on their business.
Connie is the President of the 4As (Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore), the first woman president in the association's 64 year history.
Heads of Jury
Ajay Kakar
Chief Marketing Officer, Financial Services
Aditya Birla Group
He comes with a unique agency-cum-client perspective. He has worked at the agency end for over 14 years, at Ogilvy & Mather, across the 3 key disciplines of Direct Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations. And for the last 8 years, he has been a Client.
Today, he leads Marketing across the 9 lines of business of the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group, that include life insurance, asset management, broking, general insurance broking, online money management, non-banking financial companies (NBFC), private equity, project and structured finance, and wealth management & distribution. ABFSG enjoys the trust of over 5.3 million customers, across 500+ markets.
His professional associations have included:
- Chairman, Effie Committee, The Advertising Club, India
- President, Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI)
- Vice President, Managing Committee of The Advertising Club, India
- Member, Awards Governing Council, Goafest, India
He has the distinction of being included in the Campaign India "A List" for the last 4 years.
Ben Lightfoot
CEO
McCANN Singapore
Ben Lightfoot is the CEO of McCANN Worldgroup Singapore, appointed in 2010 after re-establishing the McCann presence in the New Zealand market, where he held a dual role of Creative and Managing Director.
With more than 18 years of experience within advertising and communications, Ben has worked with large multi-nationals, boutique independents and small start-ups across New Zealand, Australia, New York, Paris and Singapore.
Ben has held senior roles in both creative and management across brand, retail, direct and digital, and has been internationally awarded for both strategy and creativity in each of these disciplines. His most treasured award is a Certificate of Merit for his Effervescent Personality.
Ben is also the current Chairman of Effie Singapore.
Nicky Lim
Regional Director, ASEAN
Geometry Global
Nicky Lim became Grey Group's Area Director for Malaysia and Thailand in April 2012 after leading Grey Group Malaysia as CEO from October 2007. He then joined WPP's latest and largest shopper activation agency, Geometry Global as Regional Director for the ASEAN region since its formation in July 2013. He is also the current Vice President of 4As Malaysia.
As a strong advocate for ideation and effectiveness, Lim's leadership at Grey Group Malaysia drove the agency to become a top achiever at every single Malaysia EFFIE awards for five consecutive years.
The agency consistently won EFFIE metals between 2009 and 2013; three golds, four silvers and one bronze, and was dubbed 'Malaysia's Best Performing Agency' in 2011. Lim's single minded ambition was to mainly focus on effectiveness in addition to creativity, which produced both local and international award winning work. Lim was also appointed as Jury Chairman for Malaysia EFFIE awards in 2012 and 2013.
Pully Chau
Advertising Veteran,
Greater China
Ms Pully Chau, who was until recently leading Draftfcb Greater China as Chairman and CEO, has deep history of involvement with the Effie program with multiple years of experience judging for Effie China as both a judge and jury leader.
A seasoned advertising veteran with some 30 years of agency experience, including 15 years in China, she was CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi China where for 10 years she tripled the agency's revenue and aggressively expanded its digital and integrated capabilities. She also helped the agency win its first Bronze and Silver Lions and its first Gold APAC Effie Award in 2008.
Her industry experience also includes working for Ogilvy & Mather, Bozell, BBDO and D'Arcy where she was Managing Director for Hong Kong and Southern China, and Regional Director for the P&G business in Asia Pacific.
Pully is also is one of the most influential advertising executives in China with numerous awards and accolades to her name - Top 10 China Chief Executive, Outstanding Advertising Woman, The Most Influential People in China Brand Building, China Adman of the Year, and Outstanding Contribution in Three Decades of China Advertising conferred by the China Advertising Association. In Jan 2014, she will be honored by Internationalist USA to receive the "21 Global Innovators Award".