John McDonald, the chief marketing officer of HSBC, has been named chair of the judging panel for Campaign's Agency of the Year Global Awards 2026.
McDonald will oversee the evaluation of entries for the sixth iteration of the awards, which recognise outstanding agency performance and innovation across the world.
He brings more than two decades of experience at the intersection of creativity, commerce and brands, as he has worked and lived across a range of countries and industries.
McDonald, who joined HSBC as its global CMO last year, began his career at Ogilvy London before moving to the US, where he spent 16 years leading marketing transformations for British Airways and Mastercard, as well as holding senior positions with both Publicis Groupe and WPP.
Most recently, he served as group CMO at UBS in Zurich, where he led the brand integration of Credit Suisse into UBS.
McDonald said: “I am delighted to chair the Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards because I appreciate and know the valuable role that agencies play in building brands and also supporting their clients. I look forward to seeing the entries and learning more about the work of the best agencies from around the world.”
Campaign's Global Agency of the Year Awards are open to individual agencies operating in a single market or as part of a wider agency network, with more than 30 categories for agencies and individuals.
Top marketers from around the world judge the awards and the process is independently audited by MediaSense.
Last year brought a record 117 entries from 27 countries, with winners ranging from independent shops to global networks, demonstrating the programme's commitment to recognising excellence, regardless of scale.
Winners will be revealed at Campaign's Agency of the Year Global Awards ceremony at London's Carlton Tower Jumeirah on Thursday, June 18, which is timed to be the week before Cannes Lions.
The deadline for entries is Thursday, February 26.
Please visit the awards website for details on how to enter.
See here for the full list of last year’s winners of the Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards.
The global awards are a standalone scheme that operates alongside Campaign’s Agency of the Year in local markets.
For more information, contact monika.raithel@haymarket.com.
Source: Campaign UK
