Dubai Lynx has revealed its 2025 jury line-up, including jurors from 28 markets, representing brands, networks and agencies who will decide the winners of 20 specialist awards. The 2025 Dubai Lynx Awards, which will recognise and honour groundbreaking and bold creative work in the region, will be held on 9 April 2025.
Agencies and networks making their jury debut in 2025 include Design Bridge and Partners, Momentum Worldwide, and 21GRAMS, part of Real Chemistry.
Brands and companies such as BUCK and Joe Public will also be represented on the juries for the first time, highlighting a growing diversity of perspectives and expertise.
Jurors confirmed from 28 markets, including Croatia for the first time, will come together in Dubai to benchmark creative excellence across the region.
Commenting on the jury president line-up, Philip Thomas, Chairman, Dubai Lynx, said, “The Dubai Lynx Awards represent the spirit of creativity and innovation that drives the MENA region forward. Our jurors play a pivotal role in upholding these values, bringing their unparalleled expertise and unique perspectives to the judging process. We are thrilled to welcome such an esteemed group of industry leaders to guide this year’s Awards and celebrate the transformative power of creativity.”
Ian Fairservice, Vice Chairman, Dubai Lynx, added, “We have an incredible line-up of global creative experts and we’re delighted to see representation from a broad range of agencies, brands and companies – including many for the first time – allowing a diverse range of voices in the Jury rooms. We’re grateful to all of our 2025 Juries for devoting their time and knowledge, and we can’t wait to see our Jurors in action in Dubai later this year.”
Exciting updates at Dubai Lynx
The 2025 Dubai Lynx Awards have also introduced exciting updates to better reflect the evolving creative landscape. The Digital Lynx has transformed into the Digital Craft Lynx, highlighting the growing significance of technological artistry across platforms.
Similarly, the Social & Influencer Award has been refreshed to honour the influential role creators play in shaping and amplifying brand messages in today’s dynamic digital ecosystem.
Other changes include an update to the Audio & Radio Lynx Award to reflect the expansion of Audio work across the industry, a refresh to the PR Lynx Award to accurately reflect the current PR industry and an evolved entry process to focus on areas of Sustainability, DEI and Cultural Context.
Mihnea Gheorghiu, Global Chief Creative Officer, LePub and Jury President for the Digital Craft and Social & Influencer Lynx Awards, shared his perspective: “The MENA region holds surprising stories that many of us are not familiar with. There are different challenges and brilliant minds that come up with fantastic solutions that can innovate and inspire way beyond the region. In our Jury’s case, we’re looking for those solutions that have either groundbreaking digital craftsmanship or redefine how brands connect with audiences on social through smart creator-driven campaigns. I’m very excited to go really deep into stimulating discussions with my Jury and decide what really stands out.”
The Dubai Lynx 2025 jury line-up includes:
Audio & Radio, Film, Print & Publishing
Chris Beresford-Hill, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, BBDO Worldwide, Global
Bharat Kumar, Executive Creative Director, Momentum Worldwide, USA
Chrystel Jung, Creative Director, BETC, France
Dora Osinde, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy GmbH, Germany
Emily Y. Wu, Executive Producer, Ghost Island Media, Taiwan
Gustavo Victorino, Chief Creative Officer, Talent, Brazil
Martin Schlumpf, Executive Creative Director, Joe Public , South Africa
Brand Experience & Activation, Creative Commerce
Ryan McManus, Chief Creative Officer, VML, UK
Crystal Vinisse Thomas, Vice President, Global Brands, Lifestyle & Luxury, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Global
Patrick Bennett, Global Chief Creative Officer, Jack Morton Worldwide, Global
Rafael Gil, Chief Creative Officer, Artplan, Brazil
Sebastian Klett, General Manager, Publicis Groupe Australia, Australia
Uyen Pham, Chief Marketing Officer, Ninety Eight, Vietnam
Creative Effectiveness, Creative Strategy
Chioma Aduba, President, Droga5 New York, USA
Ana Alonso, Global Strategy Director, VML, Global
Josh Taylor Dadds, Group Strategy Director, Special, Aotearoa New Zealand
Marina Pires, Country Managing Director, Monks, Brazil
Nhan Mai, Skin Cleansing Vietnam and Deodorant Vietnam Category Business Lead, Unilever, Vietnam
Pat Stephenson, Founder and Chief Relationship Officer, Boys + Girls, Ireland
Said Gil, CEO, Dentsu Creative, Mexico
Design, Industry Craft
Mayuri Nikumbh, Head of Design, Conran Design Mumbai, India
Amanda Smith, Creative Director, BUCK, the Netherlands
Heitor Piffer, Executive Creative Director, Design Bridge and Partners, Brazil
Jessika De Freites, Senior Art Director, Cheil, Spain
Tim Woolford, Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett, Australia
Yuhei Ito, Head of Design, TBWA\HAKUHODO, Japan
Lauren Kimball, EVP, Experience Design Director, Edelman, USA
Digital Craft, Social & Influencer
Mihnea Gheorghiu, Global Chief Creative Officer, LePub, Global
Elisa Konttinen, Creative Director, Reaktor, Finland
Juanita León, Premium Local Brands Director, AB-InBev, Colombia
Neville Shah, Chief Creative Officer, FCB Kinnect and FCB/Six, India
Sanya Grujicic, Executive Creative Director, Monks, Canada
Vinod Savio, Chief Creative Officer, DDB Group, Singapore
Direct, Outdoor
Neo Mashigo, Chief Creative Officer, The Up&Up Group, South Africa
Benjamin Vendramin, US and Global Chief Creative and Content Officer, EssenceMediacom, Global
Elizabeth Juarez, Creative Vice President, VECTOR B, Mexico
Mike Dubrick, Chief Creative Officer, Rethink Toronto, Canada
Rachel Kennedy, Group Creative Director, Forsman & Bodenfors, Singapore
Sara Clewemar, Independent Brand & Creative Lead, Sweden
Sean Poropat, Creative Director, Studio Sonda, Croatia
Entertainment
Matt Murphy, Global Chief Creative Officer, 72andSunny, Global
Britney Pai, Head of Entertainment, Greater North Asia, dentsu, Greater North Asia
César Castaño Salazar, Executive Creative Director, Monks, Colombia
Juan Woodbury, EVP, Head of Branded Content and Entertainment, North America, Prose on Pixels, North America
Kaleesha Rajamantri, Head of Prime Video SVOD – Business, Amazon Ads, Global
Michiel Marsman, Executive Creative Director, Sizzer, the Netherlands
Film Craft
Aisha Blackwell, Head of Production Services, Serviceplan MAKE, Germany
Cristiana Williams, Executive Producer of Global Origination, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, USA
Felipe Luchi, Director/Creative Director, Santeria, Brazil
Katherine Jones, SVP – Production Practice Africa , Publicis Groupe, South Africa
Louise Bonnar-Whitehead, Head of Film, Havas London, UK
Marius Talampas, Director, Managing Partner, Arcade, the Philippines
Healthcare
Roberta Raduan, Managing Director, Klick Health, LATAM
Bakani Ntaisi, Head of Marketing Consumer Division, Adcock Ingram, South Africa
John McPartland, Executive Creative Director EMEA, Ogilvy Health UK, EMEA
Katie Dean, SVP Creative Director, 21GRAMS, USA
Joy Zhu, Managing Director, McCann Health China, Mainland China
Media
Fiona Johnston, CEO – Client, Media and Commercial, Dentsu, Australia
Anisha Iyer, CEO, OMD, India
Janet Levine, Head of Global Invention, Mindshare, Global
Kien Lim, CEO, Havas Media Network China, Mainland China
Pedro Santos García, Chief Growth Officer, Zelva, Colombia
Yvonne Bertolino-Goos, Senior Media Advisor, Zilveren Kruis, the Netherlands
PR
Vanessa Ho Nikolovski, Chief Client and Growth Officer, Asia Pacific, Weber Shandwick, APAC
Lauren Haberfield, Executive Creative Director, Edelman, France
Pablo Sanchez Liste, Managing Director, Untold_, Argentina
Parveez Modak, Managing Director – Strategy, MSL, India
Randa Stephan, Global Chief Brand Officer, Burson, Global
Sera Holland, UK CEO, Ketchum, UK
Sylvester Chauke, Chief Architect, DNA Brand Architects, South Africa
For further information on the Awards, head to www.dubailynx.com/awards.
