2026 Jury

Ben has over a decade of Effie awards, involvement and recognition. In 2012 Ben helped Amnesia Razorfish to become the first digital agency to win an Australian Effie. He then went on to Co-Chair the Australian APG and reshape the Australian Effie categories twice with the local steering committee. More recently as CSO and co-owner of AnalogFolk Australia Ben led the agency to no less than 7 local Effie Finalists, as well digital, social and content APAC agency of the year awards. In 2021 the agency won a Gold APAC Effie for Hyundai #4secondreviews, which went on to represent the region at the global best of the best Effie awards. In 2024 Bastion acquired AnalogFolk Australia to ‘redefine the landscape of digital marketing services’ and recently launched Bastion DBX - led by Ben Hourahine and Matt Robinson – their specialist Digital Brand Experience unit.

Chris has found success in the space between creativity and technology. His combined marketing agency, startup, and enterprise experience gives him a well-rounded perspective of the different challenges companies in various stages of growth encounter.

Currently, he is the General Manager of GrowthOps Malaysia, an APAC Marketing Transformation agency, leading 160+ diverse creative, consulting, technology, and marketing talent.

Prior to GrowthOps, he was the Global CMO for Everise, a Digital Customer Experience firm with over 10,000 employees and present in 7 markets. There he led the rebranding of multiple acquisitions and repositioned Everise from a traditional call center into a leading digital customer experience firm, which supported the acquisition of Everise by Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) in January 2021.

One such acquisition that Everise made was Hyperlab, Southeast Asia's leading Conversational AI firm, which Chris Co-founded in 2016. There he led Hyperlab's product marketing and consulting services before being acquired by Everise in 2018, when he shifted into the CMO role.

Other notable awards and accomplishments include leading GrowthOps to 3X Campaign Asia's leading Customer Engagement Agency, a couple of EFFIE's and Mumbrella’s Campaign of the Year. Chris is also a multiple-time Malaysian and APAC EFFIE Awards Judge, a STEVIES Awards judge, and has contributed articles for Campaign Asia, TechinAsia, Marketing Magazine, Branding in Asia and Customer Think on the intersect of technology and marketing.

Chris Iki has more than 28 years of experience as a marketing professional, working on managing global brands in the U.S. and overseas.

After joining TBWA\ in 2004, Chris was assigned to work on the Nissan global account based in Tokyo out of TBWA\HAKUHODO International, formerly called G1\Worldwide. Over the course of 8 years, as the Global Account Director, Chris led the Nissan global account team in Japan and worked closely with TBWA\ agencies across 14 countries, including the US and Europe.

Chris started his career at Wunderman in New York working on the American Express Platinum and Optima Cards. During this time he also served as a key member of the team that launched the Optima Card in Japan. Since then, Chris has worked on clients such as VISA International / USA, National Football League, Apple, Gore-Tex, United States Postal Service, Harrah’s Casinos, and AT&T, all of which has provided for his unique combination of management, branding and holistic communications credentials.

As the Chief Operating Officer of TBWA\HAKUHODO, Chris continues to lead the agency down its path of success, including its tenth year of being named Japan's Creative Agency of the Year and 2018, 2020 and 2024 Agency Head of the Year by Campaign Magazine.

After graduating from University of Tokyo in 1995, Goro started his career at Hakuhodo as a marketing planner. In 2005, Hakuhodo appointed Goro to complete an internship with Tequila London and Wolff Olines, studying data marketing and branding in London for 2 years. From 2013 to 2020, Goro was a Managing Director of Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN to oversee Hakuhodo group office in South East Asia. Currently he is a General Manager at Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living.

Jan B. Oudeman is an engineer, innovator and technologist. As the Founder and CEO of Grivy, the leading provider in Commerce SuperIntelligence, Jan is dedicated to empowering brands to create personalized and engaging consumer experiences that drive real brand growth.With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, Jan has a proven track record of success in building and scaling innovative technology companies. Prior to founding Grivy, Jan held leadership positions at several startups, where he led product development and data security.Jan is a strong advocate for the power of data and technology to transform businesses. He believes that Commerce-led Personalization is the key to unlocking new growth opportunities for brands in today's competitive (retail) landscape. Under Jan's leadership, Grivy has become the trusted partner for growth-minded future ready consumer brands.Grivy is part of the Google AI Accelerator and the NVIDIA Inception program.Jan is a sought-after speaker and thought leader on the topics of Personalization, Privacy, Data, and Technology. He is regularly invited to speak at industry events and conferences. Currently, he is part of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council. Previously, Jan was a Technology Council Member at Forbes.Jan is an engineering graduate of the University of Rotterdam, where he studied Business Engineering. He received his Master's Degree in Business Administration from Erasmus University and participated in two global MBA exchange programs at IE Business School and the London Business School. In his spare time, Jan enjoys spending time with his wife and 4 kids, gardening, traveling, camping, and reading lots of books. He is also a passionate supporter of his local church and cares about the advancement of underprivileged children.

Born in Melbourne to an advertising family (mother a Creative Director and father a Client Lead) Jessica moved to Shanghai in 2004 and started a career spanning over 20 years, five countries and local, regional and global roles.

Working with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Google, Coca-Cola, Unilever, L’Oreal, Samsung, Heineken and Nestle, Jessica prides herself on building deep partnerships with clients through solving business problems with creativity.

Living in Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne and Singapore, Jessica has a deep passion for diversity, representation and the importance of engaging and reflecting with local culture.

Her roles have included Global Managing Partner, Chief Marketing Officer and Global Client Lead, through which Jessica has worked across all facets of the industry, bringing together cross capability teams, deep specialists and performance while putting creativity at the centre of everything.

As Managing Director for GUT, one of the world's most awarded creative networks, her ambition is to continue demonstrating that brave creativity drives business and continuing to celebrate and empower creativity across Asia-Pacific.

She is a frequent speaker and judge at industry events, including Spikes Asia, AdFest, APAC Effies and IPA Effectiveness.

Kawal has been a lifelong planner. Prior to co-founding The Womb, he was head of strategy for Ogilvy India. Under his strategic leadership, The Womb helped create a blockbuster product for Saregama - Carvaan. The innovation and communications work on Carvaan won the 'world's most effective campaign' of the year award from WARC in 2019. He's India's first IPA gold winner for Cadbury, has been an IPA judge, and has done jury duties at all marquee effectiveness award platforms around the world. He's also been a frequent speaker at Cannes Lions. His agency has been ranked among the Top 2 independent agencies in Asia, and among the Top 3 in the world.

Kawal believes that the industry is overly focussed on short-termism, and tactics and activations are lording over big ideas. This is taking the industry more downstream than before, while the ambition should be the very opposite. Creativity has to matter to the boardroom and for that it has to grapple with business issues. At The Womb, he practices what he believes in. He doesn't pitch, so the clients he gets are senior folk who can take such calls. And entrepreneurs/C-suite clients are more concerned with growing top-line, bottomline, margins, and shareholder wealth. And a few who're keen on giving something back to the world over the long-term. Exactly the things that Kawal loves to take on.

When not working, Kawal loves to spend time with his pets...a Taylor semi-acoustic, and a Takamine.

Problem-solving through creativity and innovation has always been at the core of Masaya’s career. Since joining Droga5, part of Accenture Song in 2021 to launch its Tokyo office, he has been pushing the boundaries of brand experience by bridging effective creativity, business impact, and technology. With a bi-cultural perspective shaped by Japan and the US, Masaya is known for uncovering simple human truths and transforming them into bold, unconventional ideas that drive real-world results. He has won over 150 international awards, including a Cannes Lions Grand Prix, and was named one of Forbes Japan’s “39 Designers Who Will Change the World.”

Nicky is a brand strategist with two decades of success in both multinational and independent agency environments across Asia, advising leading global brands on their marketing and communications strategies.

She was a co-owner of the China-based communications agency Red Bridge with offices in Shanghai and Beijing. Built from the ground-up over 12 years to a 120-people award-winning business, the agency was fully acquired by WE Worldwide in 2021, with Nicky appointed as CEO to continue leading its China operation.

Nicky embodies the qualities of a next-generation leader – she leads by example, encourages cross-discipline collaboration, and advocates client consultancy over client servicing. The agency follows a non-traditional approach, inverting the top-down ways of working in China and championing diversity and inclusion across gender, nationality, and regional representation.

Under her leadership, her teams led the successful launch of many brands in China, fostering long-lasting client partnerships across a diverse range of sectors. WE Red Bridge has been consistently recognized by global and regional awards including Cannes Lions, Campaign Greater China Agency of the Year, Sabre Global, Hashtag Asia, PRWeek Awards amongst others. Nicky herself was named a Young Business Leader of the Year in 2019, Woman to Watch in 2020 and 2025, Greater China Agency Head of the Year 2025 by Campaign Asia.

A highly sought-after expert on China’s marketing landscape, Nicky is frequently invited to sit on regional award juries, including Effie Asia Pacific, PRWeek Asia Pacific, Sabre Awards Asia Pacific, The Drum Global PR Awards and Greater China Digital Media Awards.

Nizwani Shahar is a strategic leader redefining the intersection of creativity and business impact in Malaysia and across the region. As CEO of Havas Malaysia, she has transformed the agency from an unranked position to one of the Top 3 hottest creative agencies in the country, rebuilding momentum, restoring growth, and elevating the standard of work to deliver both cultural relevance and commercial results.

Known for her sharp strategic instincts and decisive leadership, Nizwani champions ideas that drive effectiveness first. Under her stewardship, Havas Malaysia has built meaningful brands across sectors including FMCG, automotive, finance, healthcare, GLCs, airlines, retail, and government, consistently balancing bold thinking with measurable business outcomes.

A respected industry voice and returning jury member for the APAC Effie 2026, she brings a rigorous, business-first lens to evaluating work, seeking ideas that create sustained value, not just momentary attention.

Beyond agency leadership, Nizwani is committed to shaping the future of the industry, mentoring emerging talent and advocating for stronger, more inclusive leadership across Asia Pacific.

Paruj Daorai is an award-winning creative innovator whose career spans copywriting, graphic design, art direction, and digital leadership. With a Master’s in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, he began in Bangkok and swiftly advanced through pivotal roles at top agencies across the advertising industry. His strategic vision and creative prowess drove major milestones—spearheading double-digit growth as Managing Director of Digitas Thailand and later rising to Group Co-CEO and Chairman at Publicis Groupe Thailand. He is the founder of Lateral—an independent creative company built to ship unconventional ideas—and he currently serves as President of the Digital Advertising Association (Thailand) (DAAT).

Globally recognized by institutions including Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, London International Awards, and Spikes Asia, Paruj has consistently set industry benchmarks with his award-winning work. Having served as a juror at prestigious festivals such as Cannes Lions and Spikes Asia, he brings a proven ability to inspire teams and elevate brand narratives. His extensive experience and success make him a trusted creative partner for discerning clients seeking innovative strategies and impactful solutions.

Pat is the 2025 recipient of the Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award.

He began his advertising career in 1978 at Fortune Advertising, then Singapore’s largest local agency, working on blue-chip accounts such as Mitsubishi, IKEA and DBS, which laid a strong foundation for his future work.

In 1981, Pat joined Ogilvy & Mather, where he won his first major award for Philips, becoming the first Singaporean to be featured in the prestigious One Show. During his time at Ogilvy, he worked on leading brands including Carrier, BMW and Shell. He moved to Y&R in 1987, where he spent much of his career creating numerous award-winning and memorable campaigns.

In 1998, Pat co-wrote the short film OOPS, which was featured at the Sundance Film Festival.

He was the first Singaporean to chair the Creative Circle Awards in 1995, named Champion of the Creative Circle in 2005, and voted Singapore’s Creative Director of the Year in 2007.

After 22 years at Y&R, Pat left in August 2009 to form Goodfellas.

Pat has won awards at all major international shows and has served as a judge at competitions, including the APAC Effies and the Cannes Lions.

He also served on the boards and committees of Temasek Polytechnic and the Institute of Technical Education.

With over 20 years’ experience in the industry, Ryan is one of the most awarded strategists in Australia - if not the world - having won over 50 effectiveness awards. He was also named Campaign Asia's AUNZ Brand Planner of the Year, three years in a row (2021, 2022, 2023).

In 2024, he launched jnr. - an independent, effectiveness led, creative agency. In his previous role at Chief Strategy Officer of Ogilvy Sydney, he led the agency to the number 2 ranking worldwide on the WARC Effectiveness Index.

During his career, Ryan has worked on a broad range of clients and categories, and led the Strategy disciplines of Brand, Behavioural Science, Business, Comms, CRM, Data, Digital, Social and UX.

Simone Tam is CEO of dentsu Greater Bay Area & Hong Kong, leading a portfolio of agency brands across creative, media, and experience. With over 30 years of global leadership in advertising, Simone is known for building high-performing teams and driving transformation through culture, creativity, and collaboration.

Under her leadership, dentsu Hong Kong was named Overall Agency of the Year in both 2024 and 2025, earning 20 accolades in 2025 alone, including 10 Golds across Full-Service, Creative, Digital, eCommerce, and Innovative Agency of the Year.

Simone has been recognized as one of the “Top 5 Women CEOs Leading Change in Asia” by Campaign Magazine, “Agency Leader of the Year” by Marketing Magazine, and Grand Winner of the “Empowered Women Leader” award by Marketech APAC. She also serves as a jury member for global awards including Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, Effies, and YouTube Works.

She believes real innovation is powered by culture—where empowered people, shared purpose, and bold creativity come together to drive meaningful change and lasting business impact.

She joined dentsu through launched mcgarrybowen Greater China, winning an impressive number of accolades. Shanghai agency named Top 3 Creative Agencies and Top 10 Hottest Agencies in China, while Hong Kong was crowned as the Fast-Growing Agency as well as the Newcomer of The Year.

Simone has served as jury for Cannes, Spikes, Tangrams, and Global Best of the Best, Asia Pacific & Greater China Effie Awards, and YouTube Works.

Yusuke's journey with Hakuhodo began in 2004 as a strategic planner. He has been responsible for brand strategy and communication strategy planning across various industries such as automobiles, telecommunications, food, and beverages.

From 2012 to 2019, he served as the regional strategic planning director for ASEAN, based in Thailand, where he led Marketing Digital Transformation for multiple companies. His responsibilities included developing strategies for digitizing customer touchpoints, DMP/CDP development, and utilizing data for marketing activities. Additionally, he launched the Hakuhodo Institute of life and living ASEAN to conduct research and gain a deep understanding of the lifestyles and desires of people living in ASEAN.

Upon returning to Japan in 2019, he assumed the role of Deputy General Manager and took on the responsibility of expanding Global Marketing Digital Transformation business development in SEA + China/Taiwan. In 2022, he relocated back to Thailand and now oversees the establishment of the H+ APAC regional network and drives the development and promotion of digital transformation business.

With close to 30 years of transformative marketing experience spanning Unilever, HSBC, and currently as the Group Chief Marketing Officer at RHB Banking Group, Sani has left an indelible mark on the industry. From his humble beginnings at Unilever Malaysia to Thailand, he led branding teams, steering businesses to market leadership and earning numerous Business & Marketing awards.

At HSBC Bank Malaysia, he orchestrated structural changes which include launching the Islamic Bank franchise, expanding the affluent clientele, and spearheading digital channel commercialization. Now, as the Group Chief Marketing Officer at RHB, he breathe new life into the brand, resonating with younger, affluent segments, driving digital platform commercialization, and championing financial sustainability, supporting SME growth and community financial literacy.

Sani’s journey is defined by innovation, purpose, and impact which have garnered acclaim. He’s recognized as one of Asia Pacific’s Top 50 Most Influential and Purposeful Marketers by Campaign Asia, and have been honored as 'CMO of the Year' for consecutive years in Malaysia. Heralded as a 'Marketing Trailblazer for Financial Services by Marketing Magazine Asia,' he continues to shape the future of marketing with passion and purpose.

As Head of Visa Design Creative Studio, Alvina Seah brings over two decades of award‑winning brand and agency leadership across Singapore, Shanghai, and the broader Asia-Pacific region. She brings a track record of shaping culturally resonant, strategically driven brand experiences for global names including Visa, P&G, Pepsi, Gillette, and McDonald’s. Her work is recognized across international shows from Cannes Lions to APAC Effies. Her leadership approach reflects her belief in creativity as both craft and catalyst—shaping teams, elevating brand experiences, and championing work that connects deeply with people and purpose. Alvina continues to champion creativity that makes meaningful impact

Andrew currently oversees the brand and marketing arm of Maxis Berhad, Malaysia’s leading and most trusted integrated telecommunications provider.

Andrew has more than 20 years’ experience across both the client and agency spectrum, handling brands as diverse as KFC, Uniqlo, BMW and Disney both locally and regionally. Prior to Maxis, his experience includes marketing and strategy leadership roles at P&G, IBM, Interbrand, DDB, TIME and IKEA.

Andrew holds an MBA from the Melbourne Business School. He was also recognised as one of the Top 25 Innovators in Asia Pacific according to the Innovator 25 Global Rankings.

Andrew currently oversees the brand and marketing arm of Maxis Berhad, Malaysia’s leading and most trusted integrated telecommunications provider.

Andrew has more than 20 years’ experience across both the client and agency spectrum, handling brands as diverse as KFC, Uniqlo, BMW and Disney both locally and regionally. Prior to Maxis, his experience includes marketing and strategy leadership roles at P&G, IBM, Interbrand, DDB, TIME and IKEA.

Andrew holds an MBA from the Melbourne Business School. He was also recognised as one of the Top 25 Innovators in Asia Pacific according to the Innovator 25 Global Rankings.

Bea is an award winning planner with twenty years of digital experience across international markets. Her approach merges brand planning and consumer-cultural insights with full- funnel marketing and ecosystem development.

Digital Transformation Leadership: She is currently serving as Marketing Director for Impactful Brand Experience at Colgate Palmolive Philippines where she leads digital transformation, creative excellence and integrated media strategy. Prior to joining client side she was Chief Strategy Officer at Dentsu Philippines where she championed strategy and digital transformation across the network's creative and media agencies. She was concurrently General Manager at iProspect, the group's performance marketing arm. She previously held planning leadership positions with international remits at Edelman Digital Singapore, Wunderman Singapore and McCann Shanghai. Originally from Manila, she was charged with setting up the Strategy team for McCann/MRM Philippines.

Industry Awards & Judging: She has received industry recognition from award bodies including Campaign Asia (40 Under 40 SEA Account Person of the Year by Campaign Asia’s Agency of the Year Awards) and Mansmith Philippines (Young Market Master). She is an active industry speaker and member of the award circuit, having previously judged for New York Festival's Asian Marketing Effectiveness Awards, Tangrams Strategy & Effectiveness Awards and Warc Strategy Awards. Since 2023 she has served on the board of the Philippine Association of National Advertisers.

Education: Bea originally graduated from Ateneo de Manila University and has an MS in Strategy & Design Management from The New School, as well as a professional certificate in Digital Media Marketing from New York University. She regularly teaches marketing and brand strategy at prominent universities including Singapore Management University, Ateneo de Manila University, and University of Asia & the Pacific.

Dhawal Katkar, currently working as Managing Director & Country GM for India for the Menarini Group. He has experience in Consumer Goods, Media & Entertainment, Consumer Healthcare & Pharma companies. Some ofthe companies he has worked with in the past are L’Oreal, Heinz, Disney, Glenmark.

Seasoned marketer with 20 years of marketing and more than a decade of product development and senior management experience.

CXO level roles for more than 8 years.

Chief Marketing Officer/Chief Customer Officer, across
1. Personal Care, Food and Financial services
2. 12 countries and living in 4 of them in the last decade.
3. Teams of more than 50 to 100+ marketing and product development professionals.

Chief Customer Officer at Income Insurance, from Mar’22 – current, and Chief Marketing Officer, Kraft Heinz, Asia, based on out of China from Dec 2019 to Mar’22.

Developed and launched more than 50+ products over the last decade across personal care (Vaseline Men face care, face wash and body lotions), food (Soy Sauces, Chili Sauces, Sardines, Canned Meat, Baby food) and insurance (life, personal accident, travel).

Led or influenced the development of more than 200+ marketing campaigns, spanning Indonesia, China, India, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa and other Asian markets.

Currently sits on the board of World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), APAC; MMA APAC and AAMS Singapore.

Extensive experience in effectiveness awards judging including Jury Chair duties for WARC Global Strategy, 2021; WARC Asian Strategy, 2022; Effie APAC, 2022; Effie Singapore, 2023 to 2025; MMA Global Smarties, 2025 and MMA APAC Smarties, 2024

Gladys is a multi-faceted marketing leader with two decades of experience driving growth through purpose‑led, effective marketing across payments, telecoms and financial services. Currently the Head of Marketing for Regional Southeast Asia at Visa, she leads multi‑market strategies that connect business performance with social impact.

Since joining Visa in 2016, Gladys has played a pivotal role in building and scaling the company’s marketing capabilities across multiple markets. As one of Visa’s most seasoned marketing leaders, she has championed work that demonstrates how creativity and effectiveness can drive commercial performance and positive change. Her leadership produced trailblazing campaigns like “Kayang‑Kaya ng Filipina,” which advanced women’s empowerment through sport, and “#WhereYouShopMatters,” a movement that supported small and micro‑businesses during the pandemic. More recently, Gladys led Visa AP's exciting pilot into esports as a cultural platform. She also had experience in AU/NZ as well as India and South Asia on special assignment stints.

Before Visa, Gladys held senior roles at Smart Communications, where she led large‑scale brand transformations, prepaid growth strategies, and award‑winning campaigns. She began her career at Citi, driving card portfolio effectiveness.

Beyond corporate, Gladys is a long‑time marketing educator and industry advocate, committed to shaping the next generation of marketing leaders.

Gourab is a digital marketeer, currently leading Digital and client efforts for Citibank in South Asia. He has worked extensively across new business development, product marketing, brand management, and client experience. Working with colleagues across geographies and cultures really excites him.

Jun started her carrier as a business consultant for building business/marketing strategy. Then joined Francfranc, a major home furnishing company and played a prominent role as a brand manager and then contributed MOGU, interior brand, to launch in US market as VP.

Since 2005, she joined McCANN and had been engaging in consultation planning on branding and communication strategy for both global and local clients for 16 years and lead the initiative studies of "Truth About Age", "Truth About Gender in Japan" and "Truth about Global Brands".

Joined FineToday newly founded company as a group company of Shiseido in 2021, and leading brand communications for full funnel rom advertisement to CRM for all brands (hair care, skin care and body care) as VP.

She is also an active speaker at Advertising Week Asia, ad:tech Tokyo and other major marketing/communication lecture sessions.

Hello,

I am CEO of ScentOn, a leading scent marketing company based in Seoul, Korea. I am business person, perfumer and marketer.

I found scent marketing is fascinating as scent techniques are getting used more by companies worldwide as an important part of branding. Scents can not only help sales, but also create the very first experience associated with a brand.

Previously, I was marketer at global FMCG/food companies such as CJ, Bullsone, Unilver, Reckitt Benckser and Bausch & Lomb, working on a number of new product launches and brand campaigns.

Karen Ng is a seasoned marketing and branding leader with over 25 years of experience across global agencies and major corporations including Huawei, TCL/ALCATEL, and CATALO. Known for her ability to shape compelling, cross-market brand narratives, she continues to deliver impactful campaigns that elevate corporate reputation and audience engagement.

As General Manager of Corporate Branding and Marketing at Airport Authority Hong Kong, Karen leads high-visibility initiatives that strengthen Hong Kong International Airport’s global standing. She oversaw the airport’s first-ever 10K Runway Run, celebrating the commissioning of the Three Runway System. The campaign resonated widely with the public, achieved strong international engagement, and garnered both local and regional marketing recognition.

Karen also led the award-winning China market documentary and drama series “Transit of Life,” which significantly strengthened HKIA’s brand presence across Asia. The series achieved more than 300 million views and received major accolades, including The Drum Awards, Effie Greater China, and multiple honours at the PR Awards Asia-Pacific.

Her broader career achievements include wins from the Hong Kong 4As, MARKies, TOP/COM GRANDS PRIX, and China ROI Festival. Karen remains passionate about storytelling that inspires, connects, and drives meaningful brand impact.

Kavita Chaturvedi is currently the Chief Executive for the Biscuits & Confections Business Unit, Foods Division, ITC Limited. ITC Foods, is one of the largest and fastest growing packaged food companies in India with a strong play in staples, snacks, biscuits, noodles, confectionery, luxury chocolates, ready-to-eat and frozen foods.

Kavita has over two decades of experience in Consumer product goods, comprising creation, development and nurturance of some of India's foremost Food brands such as Aashirvaad, Sunfeast Yippee! Noodles, Bingo! Snacks, Fabelle Luxury chocolates, ITC Master Chef, Kitchens of India. Kavita also serves as a Director of Technico Agri Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC, and as a mentor to Sprout Life Foods, which owns and markets Yoga Bar. In addition to her corporate role, she is the Chair of the CII (The Confederation of Indian Industry) Marketing Committee. Last but not the least, as a valued alumna of the Mudra Institute of Communications (MICA), she is part of the institute's Academic Advisory Board, contributing to the development of future leaders.

Kavita’s significant contributions to the organization and industry have earned her numerous prestigious awards. She has been conferred with ‘India’s Most Influential Marketing Leaders’ by BW Business World for the last four consecutive years. Likewise, she has been listed in ‘IMPACT 50 Most Influential Women’ for the previous two years. She also received the ‘DMAI Marketer of the Year Award’ and many more.

Kok Hwee was appointed Chief Marketing Officer in October 2025, bringing over two decades of brand marketing leadership across global FMCG and fresh produce sectors. Since joining Zespri in 2017, she has held key roles including Global General Manager Marketing, Senior Marketing Director for Greater China, and Global Marketing Director.

In her previous role, Kok Hwee played a pivoted role in shaping and executing Zespri’s brand-led growth strategy, driving deeper consumer engagement and elevating the brand’s global leadership. Prior to Zespri, Kok Hwee held senior leadership positions at Procter & Gamble and Mondelez International, where she led global brands across diverse categories including Cadbury, Toblerone, SK-II, and Olay. She is passionate about harnessing the power of brands as a transformative force for good – unlocking value and creating meaningful impact for growers, consumers, communities, and people.

Based in Singapore, Kok Hwee holds an Executive MBA (Distinction) from INSEAD and a Bachelor of Business Administration (Hons) from the National University of Singapore.

Luca Destefanis is VP of Marketing at Kyndryl, leading global Campaigns and Digital. A senior marketing executive with strong business background, rooted in 25 years of international experience across Asia, Europe and US, Luca transforms organizations, develops talents, and simplifies complexity to create purpose-driven brands and drive business impact.

Known for continuously challenge the status quo, Luca has built the Customer Experience Management offering in IBM EMEA; worked in partnership with Zayed University in Dubai to launch Smartsquare, an innovation center with skills at the intersection of design, consulting and technology; advised more than 20 clients on customer and employee engagement; transformed marketing organizations by adopting new operating models; built the IBM Services brand in APAC. In Kyndryl, Luca is now focused on nurturing an amazing pool of talents, aligning central and country teams on a mission to drive reputation, relationship and revenue.

In addition to his role in Kyndryl, Luca is an active Advisory Board member (Joye.ai, ViaRT). Passionate about exploring trends in contemporary art and everything wellness, Luca lived and worked in New York, Milano and Shanghai before moving to Singapore, where he currently resides with his family.

Yoly Crisanto is the Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer at Globe Telecom, Inc, bringing over 40 years of expertise in strategic communications and sustainability to the role. A multi-awarded executive, she was recently honored as a 2025 Private Sector Sustainability Champion by the Philippine SEC and a Distinguished Thomasian Alumni Awardee. In addition to her leadership at Globe, she serves on the boards of AdSpark, Inc. and the Ayala Foundation. Ms. Crisanto holds an MBA from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and recently completed the WBCSD LEAP Program at Yale and ESADE, underscoring her commitment to global sustainability standards.

Mark has an unrivalled background in integrated marketing, sponsorship & advertising. For over 25 years he has worked with the world's biggest brands and agencies delivering award-winning campaigns globally.

In the UK and Europe, he worked at Diageo before consulting with leading agencies in the region as Creative Strategist. Highlights included award-winning 360 campaigns with Samsung, Swatch, Budweiser, Diageo brands and Coke.

In 2007, he set up his own integrated shop, FLUXX: Ideas in Motion in NZ. With Vodafone and Ford as their first clients, FLUXX worked with NZ's leading brands and later merged with Brand Spanking to form one of the most dynamic agencies in their field.

After working in Singapore as APAC Creative Strategist & Business Director for Chimney Group, he currently serves as Head of Commercial and Brand at Athletics New Zealand, where he leads national brand, marketing, and sponsorship strategy to elevate the sport’s profile and commercial performance.

A passionate voice for the advertising industry, he was a Founder and Chair of the Communications Council of NZ's PR, Social and Experiential Committee and the Experiential Marketing Association of NZ, creating the industry's inaugural awards programme - The Pressies - in 2018.

He regularly judges industry awards, including the global AME Awards Grand Jury, the NZ and APAC Effie, AXIS, Radio and Beacon Media Awards, The PRESSIE Awards, the APMA Star Awards and the NZ Marketing Awards.

Mark also lectures, mentors small businesses and runs workshops and seminars globally on advertising, events and sponsorship.

Mikimasa oversees brand strategy and marketing communications at Nissan, with his remit spanning across all consumer touchpoints for Global Nissan and their long-term strategic direction. With a background that traverses multiple continents and industries, from his early days at Tempur Sealy to tenures at agencies including TBWA and Saatchi & Saatchi, his career is marked by a blend of creativity and strategic insight.

His role at Nissan integrates his accrued experiences to magnify Nissan’s brand on a global stage, in a time when the auto-industry is pivoting towards electric mobility and digital integration. His strategy centers around precision marketing and partnerships with giants like Google and Meta, enhancing Nissan’s digital footprint and driving engagement through data-driven insights.

Since July 2024 Pablo is Marketing Director at Heineken Vietnam, a key market for Heineken globally and one of the leading FMCG companies in Vietnam. Before this Pablo was Marketing Director in Germany, Malaysia as well as spent 3 years in China on the Heineken brand.

Pepe Torres is the Group Chief Marketing Officer of Maya, the Philippines’ #1 Digital Bank and the #1 Payment Partner for Businesses. He's previously held international marketing leadership roles in Procter & Gamble and Airbnb and led campaigns with global creative and effectiveness recognition.

Prisca Lam is the Marketing Director for Google Ads, overseeing the marketing strategy for Google Ads and YouTube Ads across Greater China Region (China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong). With two decades of experience in the marketing and advertising industry, she is a results-oriented leader and an expert in leveraging social strategy and full-funnel digital marketing strategies to drive brand growth, customer acquisition, and large-scale business transformation.

With a foundational background in computer science and software engineering, Prisca brings a unique, insights-driven and data-driven perspective to marketing, specializing in the rapidly evolving landscape of Generative AI. She provides strategic leadership for the acceleration of AI adoption, focusing on Gen-AI-powered creative excellence and commercial scale across the region.

Prior to joining Google, Prisca held key leadership positions at leading global tech companies, including 14 years with Microsoft and 5 years launching LinkedIn's Greater China business, followed by serving as the APAC Marketing Director for Twilio. Her leadership is dedicated to leveraging innovation and deep ecosystem integration to deliver measurable effectiveness for the media industry.

Over 2 decades of driving brand evolution and measurable business impact across advertising, payments, energy, and automotive. Have built and transformed brands at the intersection of strategy, culture, and technology.

Having led some of the most iconic marketing campaigns and industry-defining strategies across global brands like Tata Motors, Royal Enfield, Visa, P&G, Unilever and Cadbury.

Leadership in brand storytelling, category creation, and strategic repositioning has led to high-stakes transformations, seamlessly bridging B2B2C ecosystems and managing multi-million-dollar marketing portfolios. Award-winning and culture defining campaigns such as Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad, Whisper’s #TouchThePickle, and HP Lubricants’ #RoadsThatHonk, driving both behavioural change and commercial success.

Focus has always been on turning insights into action, ensuring that every campaign moves the needle.

Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Corporate Communications, Loyalty and Product Innovation.

As a jury member for the APAC Effie, my orientation is results-driven, ensuring that the work recognized is not just creatively compelling but strategically sound and commercially effective.

Ultimately, it is about impact that drives growth.

Stephanie Ng is the Global Head of Marketing, International Wealth & Premier Banking at HSBC, she brings more than 20 years’ experience in consumer financial services in APAC, across business strategy, strategic partnerships, product innovation, portfolio management and customer loyalty. She was most recently the Financial Services Head at Meta (Facebook) where she led all Financial Services initiatives across the Facebook family of apps. She is passionate about building businesses, marketing innovation and digital transformation, helping brands keep up with technology and changing consumer behaviour to drive results.

She joined HSBC in August 2022. Prior to her role at Meta, she was the Executive Director for Credit Cards in Standard Chartered Bank, having led successful teams in cards, payments and unsecured lending businesses in Singapore, Malaysia and globally for the Bank. She has also held senior level positions with Mastercard and AIG.

She holds a master’s degree from University of Bath and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sheffield, both in the UK. She volunteers at various women’s events and is an active grassroots leader. Originally from Singapore, Stephanie is now based in Hong Kong and is married with a young child.

Having spent 20+ years working in leadership roles across the three key disciplines of sales promotion marketing (Iris), big brand advertising (BBDO) and data-driven customer experience (Proximity), Joe thrives on building teams with a high-performance growth culture by harnessing the power of creative excellence.

As Head of Creative Works at Google for Southeast Asia, Joe has the privilege to work with some of the most exciting brands and cutting edge agencies across the region. Having spent the majority of his working life in Southeast Asia, his experience to date seamlessly blends global marketing best practice with local market cultural understanding, contextual nuance and most importantly empathy.

Co-founder of BetterBriefs, ex-agency strategist. Pieter-Paul trains the world's biggest and most ambitious brands how to get better at writing briefs and evaluating ideas after having conducted the largest and first global study into briefs. Having won numerous Effie awards, including two Grand Effies and one IPA Effectiveness award, he knows client briefs and their effectiveness inside out.