Judges

A panel of international independent judges from consultancy, in-house, academic and media backgrounds, chosen for their experience and expertise will assess the entries.


Chair of the Judges

Chair of the Judges

Aseem Sood

Chairman, AMEC. CEO, Impact Research & Measurement Pvt. Ltd.

Aseem, a dog lover, is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Impact Research & Measurement Pvt. Ltd. in India. He is also the Chairman of The International Association of Measurement and Evaluation of Communication. In 2017 he was honoured with the AMEC Lifetime Fellowship Award for his contribution to the Industry. Prior to Impact, Aseem worked with McKinsey & Co. as an analyst. At McKinsey he worked with clients in Europe, US and China, helping them improve their operations' effectiveness in the domain of purchasing and supply management. He also worked in McKinsey & Co.'s Business Technology Office (BTO) practice, a special initiative of McKinsey & Co. that offers technology consulting services.Aseem holds a Post Graduate Degree in Business Administration from International Management Institute, India and a Bachelors Degree in Business Studies from University of Delhi, India. Aseem spends his free time playing with new electronic gadgets/ softwares; helping friends choose the right gadgets; listening to music; or connecting with old friends.

Richard Bagnall

Co-Managing Partner of CARMA

Richard is the global co-managing partner for CARMA International a leading provider of communications evaluation services and held the Chair position from 2016-2022 of the industry's global trade association, AMEC. Richard has advised international clients on the best ways to measure the effectiveness of their PR and prove its value to the organisation for more than 25 years. During this time, he has built and led some of the world's foremost communications measurement consultancies including Metrica, Gorkana and PRIME Research. Prior to his career in measurement and insights. Richard was a PR himself, having worked both in house and in agencies. He has contributed to several published business books on measuring communications and is an active long-term member of the UK Government's GCS / Cabinet Office Evaluation Council. In 2013 he co-authored the UK government's Capability Review of Digital Communications. Richard is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. a Fellow of PRCA and member of the PRCA's PR & Communications Council, an Honorary Lifetime Fellow of AMEC and was inducted Into PR News Measurement Hall of Fame in 2017.

Charlie Baldwin

Senior Vice President, Insights & Analytics, WE Communications

Charlie advises clients on how to effectively use data to sharpen communications strategy. He brings 14-years experience client-side and as a leader at multiple global integrated agencies helping companies prove and extend returns of their communications and marketing investments.   Fluent in and enthusiastic about a wide variety of research tools and methodologies, Charlie was named to PRWeek’s 2023 Dashboard 25, recognizing the most influential movers and shakers in communications technology and analytics. He holds a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Medill at Northwestern and a Bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College.

Sarah Ball

Head of Research

Sarah Ball is Head of Research at UNICEPTA UK. Sarah was fresh out of university when she joined the media measurement and evaluation industry 19 years ago as an analyst. Her expertise lies in consulting with clients on complex briefs, developing new methodologies and innovating approaches to research to generate insights that have impact.

Ngaire Crawford

Insights Director

As Insights Director, Ngaire is the regional head for research at Isentia and Pulsar across Australia and New Zealand. The research and insights division is responsible for producing bespoke media, communications, reputation and audience research to a wide range of clients from large corporates, government departments to small NGOs. She also leads global product development for PR and Communications across the Access Intelligence global research teams.

Rayna de Lange

Founder and CEO, DeLange Analytics

Rayna de Lange, founder and CEO of DeLange Analytics, is an entrepreneur, consultant and analyst. Prior to setting up her own company, specialised in integrated analysis of business and communications effectiveness, Rayna led the global media evaluation businesses of various companies. She is an author and mentor of numerous business strategies in the communications intelligence field worldwide. Rayna is an elected Board Director at AMEC, a Chair of AMEC's Education group, a member of AMEC's Innovation Hub and the European Chapter. Rayna has also been a guest lecturer on communications measurement and evaluation in several universities.

Vrinda Deval

Managing Partner

Vrinda Deval is the Managing Partner of TAGFact Inc., a content management and media tagging company. Working across 12 languages, TAGFact integrates technology and human expertise to validate, analyze, and synthesize media content, enhancing data quality for clients. Vrinda has 18+ years of experience working with PR and Communication clients, structuring and implementing global media monitoring and measurement solutions, helping them navigate the ever-evolving media landscape.

 

Additionally she co-manages GlocalMind, a global healthcare fieldwork company. Drawing on her expertise in media and stakeholder research, she embraces the AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework, recognizing the significance of primary research in accurately understanding media impact. In her free time, she loves to travel and has recently discovered a passion for golf.

Angela Dwyer

Head of Insights 

Angela Dwyer is Head of Insights at FullIntel—a media monitoring and analysis company. As a measurement expert, she helps brands improve business results through data-driven, actionable insights. She has worked at public relations agencies and media research firms, developing metrics and elevating measurement approaches. She has presented and published several original, award-winning research papers about recall, engagement, and trust to guide public relations strategy and measurement. She contributes her knowledge garnered from the cross-section of academia and the profession as a board member of the International Public Relations Research Conference and a member of the IPR Measurement Commission.

Mohamed Elsherif

Head of business insights, Extendad

Mohamed is one of the leaders in Arabic Social Media Intelligence with 12+ years of experience in the Media intelligence industry. He is an MSc in Social Informatics and Interactive Technologies Graduate from the University of York, UK. He has led or helped to create multiple successful social research and insights departments specialized in Arabic Social Media Listening and Media Intelligence. Currently, he is interested in promoting Social Media Intelligence in Arabic in the MENA region; hence, he founded Social Intelligence بالعربي, an online initiative.

Nicole Emme

Reputation Management and Insights Consultant

Nicole Emme has more than 15 years' experience working in the media evaluation industry. Prior to that she worked in media (broadcast production, publishing, marketing and PR) across a number of different European countries. Her exposure to European languages, cultures and media landscapes makes her an ideal Trusted Advisor for pan-European clients, or those with a global footprint. She completed the AMEC online certificate in 2008, and has maintained knowledge of and provided counsel on measurement best practice, working with clients across industries, helping them to refine and improve their measurement programmes.

Simon Gebauer

Chief Commercial Officer

Simon Gebauer is a media intelligence and PR measurement professional with over 10 years of experience, specializing in business development, partnerships, and international relationships. He currently holds the position of Chief Commercial Officer at Observer Brand Intelligence and serves as a Board Director at AMEC, where he also leads the European chapter. Simon's expertise and leadership have been instrumental in driving growth and fostering valuable connections within the industry.

Maria Gergova-Bengtsson

Founder and owner

Maria Gergova-Bengtsson is founder and owner of United Partners – one of the leading PR agencies and marketing agencies in Europe. Maria Gergova-Bengtsson has served as IPRA Council member for 4 years and later on as IPRA Board member for another 8 years. She has been elected as International PR Association President for 2009 - the first IPRA president from Central Eastern European region during the 55 years history of IPRA. Maria has been board member of Bulgarian PR society, founder and board member of Bulgarian Association of PR Agencies and also a President of the agency association. She is also guest speaker in different Universities and in a number of national and international conferences. For the past 25 years Maria Gergova-Bengtsson has developed and executed many communication strategies and campaigns for clients like Procter and Gamble, Nestle, IBM, Bayer, AbbVie, VIVACOM, Diageo, Intel, Western Union, ING Bank, Mtel, European commission, Philips, Unicef etc. Maria Gergova-Bengtsson is currently a mentor at Richard Branson’s Centre of Entrepreneurship and founding member of the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) for South East Europe.

Jeremy Gibbs

Principal Product Manager, Notified

Simon Grist

Director, Strategy & Insights

Simon is a senior communications professional with more than 20 years’ experience of global, regional and UK healthcare communications across multiple therapy areas and conditions. He has developed and delivered a range of integrated marketing programmes, mostly agency-side, with a particular focus on brand communications, corporate communications and PAG partnerships for healthcare clients. As the director of a team of strategists and researchers he now works with clients to ensure communication strategies are evidence-based, insight-led and deliver measurable behaviour change.

Alain Grossbard

Educator

Alain is Australian and since 2011 has been an educator in public relations at RMIT University, Melbourne and teaches measurement and evaluation of communication as one of his favourite topics.  He has worked in numerous senior roles in the energy industry nationally and internationally. He is currently a Board member of the International Public Relations Association representing the Asia Pacific region and a Councillor for the Public Relations Institute of Australia (Victorian Division). Alain is presently a judge for both international Public Relations awards and Australian marketing communication awards.  He has won national and international awards and has been a recipient of a Global World Award. Alain is a Fellow of both the Public Relations Institute of Australia and the International Specialized Skills Institute.

Jacquie Hanna

Head of insights and strategy, Medianet Insights

Jacquie is the head of insights and strategy for Medianet Insights, bringing to the company a passion for data and more than a decade of experience in media intelligence and analytics. She specialises in working closely with clients to design and implement end-to-end evaluation frameworks that underpin strategic planning. Jacquie has played a key role in the growth of Medianet Insights, leading the development of an AMEC-gold-winning public messaging evaluation project, the implementation of new social listening technologies and driving product development and innovation in the data space. Previously she led a multi-disciplinary team tasked with developing an integrated digital insights platform and bespoke AI-sentiment analysis tool to support critical decision making in the Victorian Government. Jacquie is a champion of combining qualitative research techniques, digital data solutions and technology innovation to optimise and enhance our insights.

Chris Hopper

Director

Chris Hopper is a director at Citypress, heading up the agency’s Research and Analytics team, which has previously won in the Communications, Research and Measurement Team category at the AMEC Awards. Chris has over a decade’s experience as a senior consultant, advising clients ranging from FTSE 100 businesses to financial services firms and start-ups on impactful communications programmes and best-practice measurement and evaluation. He was previously a business journalist.

Elizabeth Jones

Managing Director

An experienced agency leader, with 12+ years in the industry supporting clients across all aspects of the B2B, corporate and tech marcomms space. Appointed to the PRCA's B2B Committee in January 2023, selected for Management Today's 35 Women Under 35 2023 cohort, and a mentee for the Taylor Bennett Foundation reverse mentoring scheme.
Elizabeth takes a creative and ambitious approach to all work, overseeing brand perception strategies and managing reputation-critical issues for globally renowned organisations. Being insight-led and outcome-driven, this focus has delivered game-changing business results for high-growth challengers through to global, listed businesses. Leading the fantastic team at With, Elizabeth continues to oversee the growth of the specialist agency.

Maya Koleva

Director of Research and Insight

Maya is Commetric’s Director of Research and Insight and has been on the AMEC Board of Directors since 2019, now leading the ‘Innovation Hub’ working group. Maya is an expert research methodologist, with a strong focus on innovative research techniques. In her role, Maya is close to clients and consults on measurement frameworks, KPI definitions and how to answer tricky research questions for strategy planning. She also works closely with developers and machine learnings teams to test and implement new technologies in content, campaign and channel analysis.

Sophia Kudjordji 

Chief Corporate Communications Officer

Sophia Kudjordji is a Senior Public Relations Expert and multi-award-winning communications leader with a strong track record of building the function and teams at some of Ghana's leading organisations. She is the Chief Corporate Communication at the Jospong Group of Companies. Sophia has over 25 years’ experience in the media and communications industry across Public Relations and Journalism. She has worked with  notable organisations including Ghana News Agency, Volta Region Community Water and Sanitation Agency, British High Commission, Accra, UT Holdings and currently, Jospong Group of Companies. Sophia holds a Masters’ degree in Development Communication an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability; Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing; a Bachelors’ degree in Sociology & Psychology and a Diploma in Journalism from the Ghana Institute of Journalism Ghana.

Laura Macdonald

Chief Growth Officer

Laura Macdonald is the Chief Growth Officer at Hotwire, currently leading the consultancy’s Growth team who is responsible for Hotwire’s expansion in both services offered and overall global growth. Laura has been with Hotwire for over a decade and has played an integral role in building the business in North America, and now globally. Prior to Hotwire, Laura worked for other PR and communications companies including Skywrite Communications, Weber Shandwick, and Maiden Management Ltd. Laura has worked through high-stakes moments such as M&A, IPO, executive changes, product and company launches, with integrated campaigns for GoPro, eBay, McAfee, Pinterest, and more.

Michael Maybury

Data and Analytics Director, H+K Strategies

As Data and Analytics Director, Michael is responsible for managing and innovating the full suite of research and data services which are keystones to all work delivered by H+K Strategies. This includes using communications data sets and beyond to understand audiences, power creative insights and evaluate the impact of earned media programmes. Michael has over a decade of experience and has worked directly with software development and data science teams to build and deploy new technology and methodologies to various analyst teams.

Elise Misse

Global Strategic Insights Director at Ricola 

Elise Misse is currently Global Strategic Insights Director at Ricola HQ in Switzerland. She is an experienced and award-winning insight professional, having worked across countries and industries, in predominantly global HQ roles. Throughout her career, she has worked for some of the largest and most successful FMCG brands, both as a consultant and in-house. She has a track record of establishing insight and media measurement programs from scratch, showcasing her innovative and proactive approach to her work. In her spare time, Elise enjoys blogging about Leadership At Work, is a Swiss Masters Swimming Gold Medalist, and dedicated doctoral student uncovering insights to improve the way we work. Elise is always eager to embark on new endeavours to learn and contribute. If you’d like to know more, please get in touch!

Kimberley Nelson

Account Supervisor

Kimberley is an Account Supervisor at Lippe Taylor with 5+ years in measurement and analytics. She started her analytics career in paid media performance and influencer success for major brands in the technology and consumer-goods space. Over the last three years, Kimberley has focused more on earned media performance and encouraged clients to think beyond AVE and impressions. Taking an integrated approach to reporting and storytelling, she leverages earned media result alongside paid amplification results, influencer performance and survey data to tell a more complete and impactful story for her clients.

Phillip Odiakose

Chief analyst

Philip Odiakose is the Chief Analyst at P+ Measurement Services, he is Responsible for setting the short and longterm strategic direction of clients' Public relations monitoring, measurement and media performance audit, through developing and leading his team to provide strategic media intelligence and audit support to clients. Philip is a versatile Media Intelligence and evaluation professional with over 12years’ experience that cut across Media Monitoring, Intelligence, Evaluation & Measurement, Market research and C-suite reputation management for top organizations.

Claire Pimm

Director of National Resilience Communications

Claire joined the Ministry of Defence in June 2022. Previous to that, Claire was the Director of National Resilience Communications, leading the Government’s communication’s strategy and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her priority was to inform and protect the public and support businesses while navigating an unprecedented time in the world’s history.   Claire has over 20 years’ experience in local and national government, with extensive experience of working on all areas of communications. She previously led work for the UK’s exit from the European Union, Grenfell recovery and mental health campaigns.   Claire is passionate about supporting the charitable sector. She was formerly the Chair of Disability Snowsport UK for a number of years and is an Associate Director of AMEC, the International Association for the measurement and evaluation of communications.  

Yoo Mee Pontonnier

Measurement and evaluation specialist

Yoo Mee is a measurement and evaluation specialist at the Asian Development Bank, where she advises her colleagues on measurement strategy for communications. Prior to this, she led global marketing teams at agencies, delivering multiple winning award entries including AMEC Awards. At Ketchum and CARMA, she worked closely alongside former AMEC Chairs Richard Bagnall and Dr. David Rockland PhD, and it was under their mentorship where Yoo Mee found her passion for communications measurement and evaluation.

Camille Raymond

Head of Communications Impact

She is a member of  AMEC Board and Chair of AMEC’s non-for-profit group. Her career spanning over 25 years in strategic leadership, communications, and stakeholder engagement, and her solid background in the private sector and in international organisations has granted her with a unique perspective, understanding the specificities of the public sector while nurturing a strong drive for results. Her professional years at the IMF gave her the opportunity to engage with high-level government officials and a wide spectrum of stakeholders. With three masters’ degrees in Finance, Political Studies and Communications & Media, she possesses a solid foundation of analytical skills and the ability to transform complex geopolitical situations into inspirational narratives.

Steve Ryan

Assistant Professor of Instruction

Steve Ryan, MS, APR, is Assistant Professor of Instruction in Public Relations at Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication. Among other subjects he teaches PR analytics. His professional roles and responsibilities have included advertising, analytics, branding, internal communications, PR, media relations, executive communications, social media, crisis communications, digital, email marketing, thought leadership, event management and more. Additionally, he supported communications and branding for two global M&As. Prof. Ryan’s research interests include communication technology, including artificial intelligence and natural language processing; the scholarship of teaching and learning; and short-term study abroad programming.

Anna Salter

Head of Consultancy

Anna has over 20 years’ experience in corporate reputation tracking and media analysis working with clients in a wide range of sectors, including FMCG/Retail, Energy, Financial Services and Technology.  She advises clients on how to measure the impact of their communications and to protect and promote their reputation.Anna has pursued further studies during her career, most recently to understand the role of communications within sustainability, graduating from the Cambridge University Institute of Sustainable Leadership in 2021.Anna speaks regularly at industry events and delivers webinars and thought leadership papers.

Daniel Silberhorn

Senior sustainability/ESG and strategic communications advisor

Daniel Silberhorn is a senior sustainability/ESG and strategic communications advisor at SLR consulting, based in Frankfurt, Germany. Helping clients achieve their sustainability goals, he supports international companies with developing and implementing sustainability/ESG strategies. As an International Public Relations Association (IPRA) board member, he’s serving on IPRA Golden World Awards jury since 2019 and currently chairs IPRA’s Climate Change Chapter. Daniel also teaches global communications at Erfurt University, Germany, for the international PR education program Global Communications Project. He holds a Masters degree in public relations from Manchester Metropolitan University and certificates in Business Sustainability Management and Impact Communication by CISL, UK.  

Darryl Sparey

Managing Director/Co-Founder

Darryl is MD and Co-Founder of Hard Numbers, the AMEC, PR Moment, PRCA DARE, CIPR and UK Agency of the Year Award winning, performance-driven communications consultancy. Hard Numbers marries killer creative with commercial acumen to create campaigns that drive a demonstrable return on investment. Unlike many agency founders, Darryl spent much of his career in business development. After ten years running sales and marketing for Precise (now Kantar Media), he moved into digital marketing, running the London office of a Search Engine Marketing agency. He then moved into PR as a board director of Hotwire. Darryl is a Fellow of both the PRCA and CIPR and is a CIPR Chartered Practitioner and member of AMEC, but his most important job is that of father to his children, Hudson and Halia.

Kristen Stippich

EVP, and Head of Client Services at SourceCode

Kristen, EVP, and Head of Client Services at SourceCode, has extensive expertise in developing integrated communications programs for B2B and Consumer tech brands. Her true passion lies in identifying and sharing stories that forge personal connections and inspire action in individuals. Kristen is widely respected for her ability to collaborate effectively with communications teams, business units, and C-suite executives, all aimed at achieving organizational objectives. Kristen's contributions to the communications field have earned her recognition, including being featured in PR Week's prestigious Dashboard 25 Class of 2023 and PRovoke Media's esteemed Innovator 25 Americas Class of 2022. 

Francois van Dyk

Head of operations

Francois van Dyk runs Operations at Ornico, the South African Brand Intelligence research company, where he oversees all advertising, editorial and social media monitoring and analysis functions. In 2019 he was elected an International Board Director for AMEC (the International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication), as the first ever representative from Africa, and continues to serve on the AMEC Board, its education committee as well as being appointed the inaugural chair of AMEC’s Middle East Africa Chapter in 2022.

Henriette Viebig

Lead Group Brand & Communications

Henriette has been leading the Group Brand & Communications of Körber, an international technology group, since 2014. During her career in PR, corporate communications and branding she worked in agencies and global organizations. She brings in more than 25 years of industry experience (FMCG, Energy, Pharma, Construction, etc.). Henriette loves using the power of communication to win over audiences and promote profitable action for global organizations. Core to her work are attractive, crisp, and professional products – often based on storytelling that connects and engages key stakeholders. In addition, Henriette is passionate about people communications to drive culture change.

Aldo Vietri

Regional Operations Manager

Aldo Vietri is the Regional Operations Manager at GlobalNews Group, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since 2016 he has been leading the operations of several corporate offices in Latin America, and is responsible for integrating the work of multiple measurement teams. With more than 15 years working in the media intelligence industry, he is also a member of the AMEC board and Chair for the Latin American Chapter since 2022. Aldo is a proud media research nerd, and is also very passionate for travel destinations where outstanding food and drink experiences are mixed in.