9 December 2025 – Dubai Lynx, MENA’s leading platform for creative excellence and effectiveness, has revealed its 2026 Jury line-up. The Jury will convene in Dubai next year to set the benchmark for creativity across the region.
This year’s line-up brings together industry leaders from a broad range of markets, including first-time representation from Costa Rica, Uganda and Uzbekistan. Independent agencies making their Jury debut include AMPFY, ágora, Coldr, Golden Communication Group, Joan Creative, RUN Aotearoa and Zurda Agency. Leading global brands such as Philips, Stanley 1913, Wolverine Worldwide and BET Media Group also join the Juries for the first time, underscoring a growing commitment from brands to celebrate creativity’s role in driving business growth.
Elsewhere in the line-up, Shannon Watkins, CEO, WBA, is announced as the 2026 Creative Effectiveness and Creative Strategy Jury President. With a career spanning more than 20 years across leading global brands such as Nike, Aflac and The Coca Cola Company, Watkins brings expertise that will be pivotal in guiding the Jury to benchmark work that celebrates how creativity can transform brands and deliver business success.
Commenting on the Jury line-up, Philip Thomas, Chairman, Dubai Lynx, said: “As MENA’s creative landscape continues to evolve, Dubai Lynx remains the benchmark for creative excellence. Our Jurors play a vital role in spotlighting ideas that resonate and deliver real business results. Thank you to this outstanding line-up for championing the transformative power of creativity.”
Ian Fairservice, Vice Chairman, Dubai Lynx, added: “We are excited to welcome a talented line-up of industry leaders to the Dubai Lynx Awards, including many first-time independent agencies, brands and markets. Their unique perspectives and expertise will ensure that the Awards continue to celebrate work that sets the standard for creative excellence. We look forward to welcoming them to Dubai next year and seeing the impactful work shaping the industry.”
The Dubai Lynx 2026 Juries have been named as:
Audio & Radio, Film, Print & Publishing
Judy John | Global Chief Creative Officer, Edelman, Global
Carlos Baer | Chief Content and Production Officer, VML, EMEA
Diego Gueler Montero | Chief Creative Officer and Founder, Zurda Agency, Argentina
James Feeler | Founder and Music Creative Director, Jamute, Brazil
Kartik Smetacek | Chief Creative Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, India
Thandeka Gilbert | Creative Director, McCann Joburg, South Africa
Whitney Yando | Group Creative Director, 72andSunny New York, USA
Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce
Marco Venturelli | President and Chief Creative Officer, Leo, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe France, and CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Conseil, Global
Heloísa Santana | Executive President, AMPRO – Brazilian Association of Promotional Marketing, Brazil
Pannarai Juanroong | Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy, Thailand
Rakesh Menon | Chief Creative Officer, FCB Interface, India
Richard McLeod | Global Chief Marketing Officer, Merrell, Wolverine Worldwide, Global
Thomas Knüwer | Chief Creative Officer, Accenture Song, Central and Eastern Europe
Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy
Shannon Watkins | CEO, WBA, Global
Jonty Fisher | Chief Strategy and Integration Officer, Publicis Groupe Africa, South Africa
Kara Yang | Managing Director, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Greater China
Minh San Vu | Executive Business Development Director cum Executive Strategic Planning Director, Hakuhodo International, Vietnam
Nadine Müller-Eckel | Chief Strategy Officer and Partner, Anomaly Berlin GmbH, Global
Rafik Belmesk | Partner and Head of Strategy, Courage, Canada
Sanne Houterman | Strategy Director, Cheil Benelux, the Netherlands
Design, Industry Craft
Josefina Casellas | VP Executive Creative Director & General Manager SS LATAM, R/GA, SS LATAM
Eric Mununuzi | Creative Director, TBWA\Uganda, Uganda
Hilary Badger | Executive Creative Director, Leo, Australia
Jelena Fiskus | Creative Director and Co-Founder, Studio Sonda, Croatia
Takayuki Niizawa | Managing Director, Landor Tokyo and Creative Lead, WPP, Japan
Temur Sadi | CEO, MA’NO Branding, Uzbekistan
Tudor Cucu | Executive Creative Director Design, Serviceplan ZERO, German
Digital Craft, Social & Creator
Yasuharu Sasaki | Global Chief Creative Officer, dentsu, Global
Andrea Siqueira | Partner and Chief Creative Officer, AMPFY, Brazil
Enoma Edevbaro | Head of Social, SEK, Finland
Güldeniz Şeşen Bilginer | Executive Creative Director, Tribal Worldwide Istanbul, Turkey
Jarek Carethers | Creative Innovation Lead, TikTok, USA
Joao Flores | Chief Creative Officer, Monks, Singapore
Pancho González | Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Inbrax, Chile
Direct, Outdoor
Joji Jacob | Regional Chief Creative Officer, Havas, South East Asia and North Asia
Eveliina Rantahalvari | Head of Marketing, Musti Group, Nordics and Baltics
Kagiso Musi | Group Managing Director, Meta Media, Global
Raymond Otene McKay | Chief Creative Director, RUN Aotearoa, Aotearoa New Zealand
Sam Rowlands | Executive Creative Director, LePub Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Thamakorn Ruchakityanon | Executive Creative Director, Sour Bangkok, Thailand
Zachary Bautista | Partner, Group Creative Director, Rethink, Canada
Entertainment
Laurence (‘Lolly’) Thomson | Joint Global Chief Creative Officer, M+C Saatchi Group, Global
Chepe Antillón | Regional Chief Creative Director, Garnier BBDO, Global
Lex Remalante | Global Associate Creative Director, Our LEGO Agency at The LEGO Group, Global
Lulu Lu | Chief Creative Officer, VML, Taiwan
Rani Vaz | Managing Partner and Executive Creative Producer, Supreme Music, USA
Trevor Ndhlovu | Chief Executive, Bodega Partners, Global CEO, Capsule Studios Inc., and Chief Brand Officer, Amplify Africa, Global
Film Craft
Zia Mandviwalla | Director, Finch, Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia
Ana de Diego | Founder, Spark & Riot, USA
Annie Lazarevski | Global Production Director, Havas Creative, Global
Colin Foo | Creative Director and VFX Supervisor, thequietlab, Singapore
Kelly Castilho | Film Director, Confeitaria Filmes, Brazil
Mohamed Diaa | Executive Creative Director, Joan Creative, USA
Sander Mölder | Executive Creative Director, Black Cat White Cat Music, Estonia
Healthcare
Tash Beecher | Creative Director, Syneos Health, Global & EMEA
Agustín Alba | Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Creative, Argentina
Clay MacGuire | SVP, Creative Director, 21GRAMS, USA
Dorelle Kulkarni | Managing Director, Havas Life Mumbai Pvt Ltd, India
Jon Haywood | Senior Design Strategist and Choice Engineer, Philips, Global
Media
Chrissie Hanson | CEO, OMD, USA
Dawn Rowlands | CEO, dentsu, South Africa
Elias Betinakis | Chief Strategy Officer, WPP Media, Sweden
Kristine Ong | Media CEO, Publicis Media, Malaysia
Sham Islam | Executive VP and Group Managing Director, Global Clients, Havas Media Network, Global
Tiyale Hayes | Executive VP, Marketing and Audience Development, BET Media Group, USA
PR
Lerato Songelwa | Managing Director: South Africa, Burson, South Africa
Erica Samadani | VP Communications and PR, Stanley 1913, Global
Fábio Santos | CEO, CDN, Brazil
Huong Nguyen | CEO, Golden Communication Group, Vietnam
James Wright | Global CEO, Havas Red, Global Chair, Havas PR Network, and Group CEO, Havas ANZ
Kamiqua Lake | CEO, Coldr, Global
Rogelio Blanco | President and Partner, ágora, Mexico
Entries into Dubai Lynx are being accepted until 22 January 2026. Further information on the Awards can be found at www.dubailynx.com/awards.
About Dubai Lynx
Dubai Lynx is MENA’s leading Awards for creative excellence and effectiveness, in the Middle East and North Africa. Presented by Ascential, organisers of Cannes Lions, together with their regional partners, Motivate Media Group, the Dubai Lynx, is held in association with the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) and with the support of Dubai Media City (DMC). The Awards serve as the definitive benchmark for creative excellence, marketing strategy and effectiveness in MENA.
www.dubailynx.com
About Motivate Media Group
Motivate Media Group operates across the GCC and MENA region with a diverse portfolio of media interests comprising magazines, digital, social, video, exhibitions & events, cinema and books.
A leading publisher in the Gulf since 1979, its portfolio includes market-leading magazines, eight websites and over 300 book titles. Motivate’s digital and video division is an established content provider for some of the region’s largest companies and the Motivate events team expertly stage some of the GCC’s major award ceremonies, festivals and activations.
With a staff of more than 200 experienced and dedicated professionals, Motivate is committed to providing editorial excellence, and a corporate mission to develop integrated communication channels that entertain, inform and enrich.
Motivatemedia.com
About LIONS
LIONS is the global platform that champions creativity and marketing effectiveness for growth. We help businesses grow through creative marketing that matters.
We know that creativity can and should be applied across the full marketing mix. Creativity is an impactful business driver – and when it’s integrated with a culture of effectiveness, it’s a competitive advantage.
Backed by over 150 years of experience and evidence, Cannes Lions, WARC, Effie, Contagious and Acuity – provides the global marketing industry with the definitive benchmarks, intelligence, training and tailored advice needed to grow.
LIONS is part of Informa PLC.
www.lions.co
About Informa
Informa PLC is a leading international B2B events, digital services and academic research group.
We champion specialists. Through hundreds of market-leading brands, we connect people with knowledge so they can learn more, know more and do more.
We operate in over 30 countries and serve businesses and professionals working in over a dozen specialist markets.
Informa is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.
www.informa.com