RIYADH: Dubai Lynx has announced the names of the judges for this year’s edition of the awards festival for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Half the jury will be made up of women – the highest proportion of female panel members to date for the festival – similar to the global Cannes Lions festival, which has 57 percent of women among the jury presidents.
Cannes Lions also recently completed its jury lineup for 2021 with notable names including Susan Credle, global chief creative officer of FCB, and Merlee Jayme, global president at Dentsu Mcgarrybowen.
Philip Thomas, chairman of Dubai Lynx, said: “A 50 percent female representation is our highest to date and something we’re particularly proud to be driving. The juries are now tasked with setting the benchmark for the creative community in MENA and we’re excited to see the outcome.”
Although Cannes Lions is hoping to have the judges present physically for the international awards, Dubai Lynx is following its sister festival Eurobest’s footsteps and holding a remote judging experience for the judges to meet and discuss the work remotely.
“We have created a remote judging experience that’s as close to the physical judging as we can make it. It’s a crucial part of all of our Lions awards; a human experience but also a rigorous and robust process,” added Thomas.
The list of jury presidents for this year is as follows:
- Brand experience and activation: Bas Korsten, global chief creative officer, Wunderman Thompson
- Creative effectiveness and creative strategy: Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer, Restaurant Brands International
- Design and industry craft: Greg Quinton, global chief creative officer, Superunion
- Digital and mobile: Caitlin Ryan, regional director, Creative Shop, Facebook, EMEA
- Direct and outdoor: Peter Khoury, chief creative officer, TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, South Africa
- Entertainment: Luke Southern, CEO, DRUM, UK
- Film, print and publishing, and radio and audio: Kate Stanners, chairwoman and global chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi
- Film craft: Laura Geagea, managing director and executive producer, The Sweetshop, China/Asia
- Healthcare: Matt Eastwood, global chief creative officer, McCann Health
- Media: Imogen Hewitt, CEO, Spark Foundry, Australia
- PR: Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick, India
