London – The 57th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the world’s most coveted awards and largest celebration of creativity in communications, announces Jury presidents of three awards categories to chair next year’s global event, namely:
Media President – Laura Desmond, Global Chief Executive Officer, 
Starcom MediaVest Group
Outdoor President – Tay Guan Hin, Regional Executive Creative Director, JWT Asia
Radio President – Paul Lavoie, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, TAXI
"These three powerful individuals are, as you would expect, world leaders," says Terry Savage, Festival Chairman. "Highly respected professionals, whose work and skills are admired around the globe. We are truly honored to welcome them as Cannes Lions jury presidents."
Tay Guan Hin is the fifth Asian to be Jury Head. Former Asians include: Piyush Pandey-group president and national creative director of Ogilvy & Mather India, headed Film and Press & Outdoor in 2004; David Guerrero-chief creative officer of BBDO Guerrero headed radio jury; Prasoon Joshi-executive chairman of McCann Worldgroup India and regional ECD APAC, was 2008 Outdoor president and Akira Kagami-Dentsu executive officer and global executive creative director, also for Outdoor.
Laura Desmond, appointed Chief Executive Officer, Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) in June 2008, is one of the youngest CEOs to lead a global marketing services company, commanding a staff of 6,000 team members across 110 offices around the world and partnering with leading brands including Nintendo, Oracle, Procter & Gamble, Samsung and Walmart.
Under her leadership, SMG has been awarded numerous local, regional and global industry accolades including ten Cannes Lions in 2009. Laura was named one of the world’s most powerful women by Forbes (2008) and Ad Woman of the Year (Advertising Women of New York 2009).
Commenting on her appointment, Laura Desmond said, "It is an honor to be a part of one of the most respected global festivals and celebrate with my fellow jury members the world’s best communications and media work. I anticipate we will see an exciting new breed of innovative, disruptive and provocative work reflective of the dynamism of the new age media terrain."
Tay Guan Hin, Regional Executive Creative Director of JWT Asia, joined JWT in 2005 and was the first South East Asian creative director to be elected to the JWT Worldwide Creative Council. Under Guan’s leadership, JWT Manila and Jakarta created history by bringing home The Philippines’ first Gold Cannes Lion and Indonesia’s first Cannes Silver Lion. Spikes Asia also named JWT as Network of the Year 2009. Guan currently also holds the position of Global ECD of Lux (Unilever).
His awards include Golds at Cannes Lions, D&AD, Gold Pencils in The One Show, Clios, AdFest, AWARD and Spikes. Guan has judged and chaired at many major awards and was the first Asian to serve as D&AD’s Foreman in the poster category.
"The outdoor landscape is changing very rapidly. Even a traditional billboard is always evolving. I’m extremely curious to see how the future will transform the outdoor medium. It’s indeed exciting to be given this opportunity to lead in Cannes. My focus is to filter and ensure that the most innovative Outdoor will be rewarded," says Tay Guan Hin.
Paul Lavoie co-founded TAXI in 1992, successfully combining the disciplines of advertising, digital and design. Growing into seven offices in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and with an expanded product offering, TAXI remains independent and committed to its original vision. Marketing Magazine, in August 2008, named Lavoie one of the 10 most influential pioneers in Canadian marketing over the past century. In 2006, he was listed by Creativity magazine among the 50 most influential creative minds of the last twenty years. That year, he also became the youngest inductee of the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends.
"I’m looking forward to Chairing the 2010 Cannes Lions Radio jury. Radio is the ultimate test of a copywriter’s craft. In our digital world we are served imagery and visual effects with greater and greater realism, yet radio still rivals with the power to stimulate our imagination and make those experiences personal and intimate. Winning a Radio Lion is an accolade like no other; its merit is all idea and no artifice," says Paul Lavoie on his role as Radio Jury President.
For further information, visit www.canneslions.com.
