Jolbors Festival has announced its international jury for 2026, bringing together some of the most influential creative minds from around the world – agency leaders, founders, art directors, filmmakers, and storytellers who have shaped brands, culture and the creative industry across multiple markets. This year, Jolbors will bring two distinct perspectives to the judging table: Creative & Marketing, covering Film & Film Craft, Campaigns, Strategy, Media, Marketing, PR & ESG, and Digital; and Branding & Design, covering Branding and Print & Outdoor.
The final deadline for entries is August 24, 2026. To enter Jolbors Festival 2026, submit your work here.
Creative & Marketing Jury Panel
The Jury Chairman of the Creative & Marketing jury panel is Thomas Hongtack Kim, founder of 2kg Creative Solution Lab and CCO & Partner at Paulus, South Korea. A former Executive Creative Director at Cheil Worldwide, Thomas has worked across Seoul, New York, Beijing and Shanghai and has been recognized by Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD, LIA, Clio and other major festivals. He also serves on the International Board of Directors of The One Club for Creativity.
Joining him is a jury of creative leaders whose work spans advertising, culture, technology, social impact and business:
Vidya Manmohan, Founder & CCO of V4GOOD, Dubai
One of the Middle East’s most awarded female creative leaders, with 28+ years of global agency experience and jury roles at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show and other major festivals.
Lulu Lu, CCO of VML Taiwan
One of Taiwan’s most awarded creative leaders and was named the country’s Best Creative Person in Advertising in 2021. She is a copywriter, author, college lecturer, and wordsmith who has been passionate about advertising for over a decade. Lulu has received numerous awards, including Spikes Asia, Effie Greater China Awards, ONE Show Greater China Awards, LIA China, AdFest, and DAwards.
Raymund Sison, Founder, CEO & CCO of Lennon Group, Philippines
Raymund brings two decades of experience across advertising, marketing and brand-building, having shaped campaigns for global brands and helped build Filipino household names. His work has been recognized in creative festivals around the world, from Cannes to London to New York to Las Vegas to Busan to Singapore to Manila. He was named one of Asia Pacific’s 40 Under 40, and led the transformation of a small Philippine digital agency to become Campaign Magazine’s Global Digital Indie of the Year.
Atiya Zaidi, CEO & CCO of BBDO Pakistan
Atiya made history as the first Pakistani winner of a Cannes Lions Glass Lion and the country’s first jury president at Spikes Asia.
Supparat Thepparat, Creative Partner & Co-founder of NUTs, Thailand
Supparat brings 18+ years of experience across BBDO, McCann, Dentsu, JWT, Ogilvy and other global networks, with work recognized by Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Spikes Asia and AdFest.
James Keng Lim, Singapore
A Singapore-based creative communications leader, has worked across B2C, B2B, healthcare and sports marketing throughout APAC and beyond. His work has won at Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, Clio and LIA.
Serena Abi Aad, Spain
Serena is an independent Creative Director and Filmmaker based in Barcelona, brings a cross-cultural perspective shaped by Lebanon, Cyprus and Europe. A two-time Cannes Lions and D&AD juror, she has led award-winning work for Adidas, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Virgin Mobile.
Yuliya Tushina, CEO of Creative Business at DASM Group, Kazakhstan
Yuliya previously led GForce Grey and helped deliver Kazakhstan’s first-ever Cannes Lions Gold in 2024, followed by further Lions recognition in 2025.
Dasha Ovechkina, Associate Creative Director at W+K Amsterdam
Dasha has worked with global brands including Nike, LEGO, Balenciaga and Samsung. In 2025, she was named a Next Creative Leader by The One Club. In 2026, she won a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions for LEGO’s “Everyone Wants a Piece” campaign.
Balreet Gill, Founder of Sambal Lab, Malaysia
Balreet is known for pushing experiential marketing beyond convention, creating immersive brand platforms for global brands including Tiger Beer and Guinness across Asia and beyond.
Anton Kim, Product Experience function at BI Group, ex-CMO Forte, Kazakhstan
Anton is a product experience leader, creative strategist, and one of Kazakhstan’s leading marketing executives, with over two decades of experience across finance, retail, and real estate. He has led award-winning projects recognized by leading international and regional festivals, including Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, Red Dot, Epica.
Andrei Gubaidullin, founder and Creative Director of Voskhod for Peace, Russia
Under Andrei’s creative leadership, the agency has won more than 600 awards at international festivals, including: Cannes Lions, The Clio Awards, the London International Awards, The One Show, Eurobest, Epica, The Globe Awards, Golden Drum, The CUP, ADCE, The Effie Awards, Golden Hammer, Red Apple, White Square and Kiev International Advertising Festival.
Branding & Design Jury Panel
The Jury Chairwoman for Branding & Design jury panel is Mayuri Nikumbh, Chief Design Officer at Elephant Design, India. With more than two decades of experience, Mayuri has shaped brands for Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Nestlé, PepsiCo, TATA, Uber and other global companies. A Cannes Lions and Spikes Asia juror and former Jury President at Dubai Lynx, she brings a perspective rooted in the intersection of culture, design, business and human behavior.
The panel includes:
Masaya Asai, Chief Creative Officer at Droga5 Tokyo, Japan
Problem-solving through creativity and innovation has always been at the core of Masaya’s career. Since joining Droga5, part of Accenture Song in 2021 to launch its Tokyo office, he has been pushing the boundaries of brand experience by bridging effective creativity, business impact, and technology. He has won 150+ international awards, including a Cannes Lions Outdoor Grand Prix and was named one of Forbes Japan’s “39 Designers Who Will Change the World.”
Prerna Mehra, Executive Creative Director & Head of Art & Design at MullenLowe MENA, Dubai
Prerna works at the intersection of culture, creativity, design and technology. Her work has been recognized by Cannes Lions, The One Show, Clio, The Webby Awards, LIA and Dubai Lynx, among others.
LP Gatti, Regional ECD & Head of Entertainment at White Rabbit, Hungary
LP’s international career spans Brazil, the Middle East and Europe. Named one of the world’s most awarded Art Directors by The Drum, he has also served on more than 30 international juries.
Juliana Utsch, Executive Creative Director at AlmapBBDO, Brazil
Juliana brings 20+ years of experience across leading agencies including BETC Havas, GUT, Publicis, FCB and AlmapBBDO, with work recognized at Cannes Lions, D&AD and The One Show.
Temur Sadi, Co-founder & Design Director at MA’NO Branding, Uzbekistan
Temur has more than 15 years of experience in brand strategy and design. His work has won at Red Dot, Pentawards, Epica, MAD STARS, White Square, KIAF and Jolbors Festival. He was Uzbekistan’s first juror at the Cannes Lions Shortlist Jury and Young Lions Design Global Jury.
Ilya Pryamilov, Chief Creative Director at Rodnaya Rech, Russia
Ilya previously served as Global Creative Director at Le Pub Milan, working on global brands including Mondelez and Heineken. His work has collected more than 300 international awards, including Grand Prix and Golds at Cannes Lions, D&AD, LIA and The One Show.
Cinzia Pallaoro, Executive Creative Director at Leagas Delaney Italia
Cinzia has worked across Berlin, Barcelona and Milan on brands including Porsche, Burger King, Vodafone, Barilla, ING and Bauli.
Two juries, One global standard
From Seoul to São Paulo, Dubai to Tokyo, Taipei to Barcelona, and Central Asia to Europe, the Jolbors 2026 jury brings together different creative cultures and generations – united by one question: Does the work matter?
The 2026 jury will celebrate ideas with originality, cultural relevance, craft and real-world impact – works capable of moving audiences, brands and the industry forward.
“Jolbors has evolved from a Central Asian festival into an international platform where creative voices from around the world come together. This year’s jury reflects that evolution, uniting people who have shaped global creativity, built influential brands and challenged the way our industry thinks. It also reflects our mission to build a strong professional community – one that inspires, challenges and helps creative people connect, grow and take their own path to the top,” said Sabina Reingold, Jolbors Festival Co-Founder.
The clock is ticking. August 24, 2026 is the final deadline to enter Jolbors Festival 2026. Bring your boldest work. Bring the ideas worth judging.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of the Jolbors Festival 2026.
