AMES names first jury presidents: James Thompson and Rahul Welde

Thompson, global managing director for Diageo Reserve, has been with Diageo since 1994. Based in Singapore, he leads the company's luxury business. Thompson has long been a strong advocate of the impact creativity can have on businesses.

“This event has become one of the most prestigious on the region’s awards circuit," Thompson said. "It celebrates brilliant joined-up thinking and the effectiveness that great execution of that thinking generates. It is exciting to have an opportunity to review the best of the best work—with a distinguished panel from across the industry.”    

James Thompson

As Unilever's vice president of media, Welde is responsible for driving the company's media and communication agenda through its network of agencies and partners. He is a strong advocate of non-traditional thinking, and a number of projects under his stewardship have received wide acclaim and recognition.

“It’s fantastic that the AMES are recognising Media Strategy as its own section in 2014, and I am very much looking forward to being a part of this category in its inaugural year," Welde said. "Media strategy is a crucial part of any marketing campaign, and I can’t wait to see the unique, imaginative and innovative ways in which the region has deployed it to achieve quantifiable results.”

Rahul Welde

Commenting on the appointments, Terry Savage, chairman of Lions Festivals, said, “We’re delighted that James and Rahul are joining us as we expand the awards to include strategy alongside effectiveness. They are proven achievers in the industry and it will be fantastic to work with them as we look to award truly ground-breaking work from across the region.”

A further two new awards categories, Digital Strategy and Data & Analytics, are also being introduced this year, and details of the jury presidents and their juries for them will be announced soon.

AMES entries are being accepted until 7 March. Submissions can be made through the website, www.ames.asia. The winners of the 2014 AMES will be revealed and honoured on stage at the dedicated awards ceremony, which takes place in Singapore on 29 May. 

Effectiveness Jury

• James Thompson, Diageo, Managing Director Global Reserve – Jury President
• Ashutosh Srivastava, Chairman / CEO, APAC, Russia & Emerging Markets, Mindshare
• Charles Cadell, President, Asia Pacific, McCann Worldgroup
• Cheuk Chiang, CEO, Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group
• Chris Thomas, Chairman and CEO of BBDO Asia, Middle East and Africa, Chairman of Proximity Worldwide, BBDO/Proximity ‎
• Christine Xu, VP and CMO, China, McDonald's,
• David Brain, President & CEO, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Edelman
• David Mayo, CEO, Bates CHI & Partners Asia
• Dick van Motman, Chairman & CEO Dentsu Aegis Network/Southeast Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network
• Freddy Bharucha, General Manager, Asia Marketing, Procter & Gamble
• Gavin Ashcroft, Chief Strategy Officer, Australia & New Zealand, Carat
• Gerry Boyle, Chairman, Asia Pacific, ZenithOptimedia
• Harpreet Singh Tibb, Director of Marketing, India & South Asia, Kellogg
• Hyoung Do Lee, Planning Director, South Korea, Cheil Worldwide
• Jarek Ziebinski, President, Asia Pacific, Leo Burnett
• Keith Smith, President, International, TBWA Group
• Mark Heap, CEO, Asia Pacific, MediaCom
• Matthew Godfrey, President, Asia, Y&R
• Nirvik Singh, Chairman & CEO, Asia Pacific, Grey Group
• Paul Heath, Chairman & CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific
• Rob Campbell, Regional Head of Planning, Wieden + Kennedy
• Rupen Desai, Regional President, Asia Pacific, Lowe + Partners
• Sarah Reiter, President, Asia Pacific, FutureBrand
• Steve Blakeman, CEO, Asia Pacific, OMD
• Vikram Sakhuja, Global CEO, Maxus Worldwide
• Vishnu Mohan, CEO, Asia Pacific, Havas Media Group
• Wong Mei Wai, Head of Marketing, Vietnam, Asia Pacific Breweries

Media Strategy Jury

• Rahul Welde, Vice President of Media, Unilever Asia, Africa, Middle East, Turkey and Russia – Jury President
• Amcke Becker, Marketing Excellence Manager, Asia & Middle East, FrieslandCampina
• Bindu Sethi, Chief Strategy Officer, India, JWT
• Catherine Williams, Partner, Strategy, Asia Pacific, Mindshare
• Chun-Yu Shih, General Manager, WebGene Inc.
• Donna Kim, Media Strategy Director, South Korea, Cheil Worldwide
• Guy Hearn, Chief Innovation Officer, Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group
• Jerry Blanton, Vice President & Global Marketing Director, Asia & EMEA, Citibank
• Joe Nakamura, CEO, Japan, UM
• Koichi Yamamoto, Senior Planning Director, Japan, Dentsu Inc.
• Lilian Leong, Managing Director, Hong Kong, IPG Mediabrands
• Lizzie Nolan, Asia Pacific Head of MediaCom Beyond Advertising, MediaCom
• Malcolm Hanlon, Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific, ZenithOptimedia
• Masashi Ariizumi, Senior Planning Director, Japan, ADK
• Neil Stewart, Global Chief Client Officer, Maxus
• Ranganathan Somanathan, Chief Operating Officer, South East Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group
• Rohan Jha, Senior General Manager of Media & Promotions, Sony Music Entertainment India
• Sean O'Brien, CEO, Asia Pacific, Carat
• Sean Rach, Regional Director, Brand and Corporate Affairs, Prudential Corporation Asia
• Stephanie Bell, Regional Media Director, China, Australia, Japan and Korea, L'Oreal
• Torie Henderson, President, Global Account Management, Asia Pacific, Omnicom Media Group