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Our Judges
Alessandra Antonelli | Head of Marketing | Addison Lee
With over 12 years of experience, Alessandra Antonelli is a dynamic marketing leader specialising in impactful B2B and B2C strategies across Fashion, Transportation, Events, Publishing, and Tech. As Head of Marketing at Addison Lee, she drives omni-channel campaigns, brand growth, and high-performance team leadership. Alessandra has a proven track record of executing innovative marketing and event strategies that deliver measurable results. Passionate about blending creativity with strategic insight, she thrives in fast-paced environments, ensuring brands not only stand out but also achieve tangible success. Recognised for her expertise in developing and executing campaigns that exceed expectations, Alessandra is honoured to bring her insights and industry knowledge to the judging panel.
Alex Natthaphon Kanjarnavoranun | Consultant in SEO, Digital marketing, and Digital transformation | Foundmatic UK
Alex Natthaphon is a highly experienced SEO expert, digital marketing specialist, and management role in marketing. TechNation UK has endorsed him as the highest-tier Exceptional Leader of UK Global Talent Visa in the Digital Technology category. He has achieved multiple successful career paths in different industries, including Finance, E-commerce, Travel, Education, Automotive, and more. Alex was VP of Digital Campaign Planning & Execution Manager at SCB bank, focusing on digital banking automation and transformation. He is a founder of ABACTODAY, an ed-tech and e-learning platform for students. He was head of SEO and digital marketing at multiple Unicorn startups in Southeast Asia. He has led and provided digital marketing consultants internationally; for instance in Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, US, and UK. Not only online marketing, but he was also AVP Head of Omni-channel Marketing which focused on digital transformation at one of the biggest department stores in Thailand and UK.
Angelika Eremeeva | Global Social Media Lead | Travelpayouts
Angelika Eremeeva is an award-winning social media and travel marketing expert with over 10 years of experience in the industry. She has worked with some of the world's leading travel brands, events, and platforms, including National Geographic, Medium.com, Wanderful, TBEX, Booking.com, GetYourGuide, Agoda, SkyUp Airlines, Expedia Group, Viator, and Tripadvisor. Angelika is known for developing a unique viral SMM strategy that helps brands create high-impact content, engage global audiences, and generate millions of views. Her expertise in content creation, influencer collaborations, and data-driven marketing has made her a recognized leader in the digital space.
Anna Oshkalo | Senior Team Lead Marketing & Business Development | Emma - The Sleep Company
Anna is a digital marketer with over 15 years of experience. She's had the opportunity to live and work in the Netherlands and Sweden and has now settled in Portugal, where she runs her own consultancy business. Before starting her consultancy, Anna worked at Ericsson, where she was responsible for global SEO and paid media strategies, development of Ericsson’s digital marketing tech stack and training of marketing teams across the globe. Anna's expertise also extends beyond corporate; she has worked with various startups in competitive sectors like telecommunications, gambling, and e-commerce.
Beth Hibbert | Founder and PR consultant | Pitchpoint Comms
Beth is an experienced PR professional, working in digital marketing for over a decade. She has experience both in digital agencies and as a freelance PR, working with consumer and B2B brands to support SEO and digital teams achieve search, sales and digital performance goals. Her freelance business Pitchpoint Comms, helps brands get in front of the right audience at the right time: improving brand awareness, delivering clear messages and driving customer action.
Chelsea Jarvis | Head of Digital & Creative | Bidwells
Chelsea Jarvis is Head of Digital & Creative and a Departmental Partner at Bidwells, leading digital transformation, website strategy, and content innovation across the real estate and professional services sectors. The Bidwells team has earned multiple industry awards, including recognition at the Property Marketing Awards, B2B Marketing Awards, and The Drum Awards. Passionate about innovation and measurable results, Chelsea regularly speaks at industry events, shaping the future of digital content and brand engagement.
Chelsey Wheeler | Senior PR Practitioner | Direct Line
Ambitious and driven public relations strategist, with extensive experience directing public relations campaigns in both agency and in-house settings. Proven success developing, managing and implementing media strategies and measuring results across traditional media and emerging digital channels. I'll be looking out for ways in which communications specialists have learnt to adapt and thrive in an ever changing digital media landscape.
Cheryl Barr | Head of Content & Communications | Bella & Duke
Cheryl Barr is an accomplished marketing and communications leader with extensive experience in content strategy, marketing strategy and communications. As the Head of Content and Communications at Bella + Duke, she leads the organic marketing function to increasing brand fame and consumer education and engagement as well as building the brand in other stakeholder markets and finding the right partnerships. With a career spanning over a decade, Cheryl has held key roles in marketing and communications, including as Marketing Manager for IMV Imaging across the UK, Ireland, and South Africa, where she drove strategic campaigns, digital marketing initiatives, and rebranding efforts. Her expertise includes campaign management, SEO-driven content development, digital advertising, and public relations. Passionate about storytelling and brand growth, Cheryl truly believes that brands can achieve so much by focusing on educating customers and engaging them along the customer journey to purchase.
Chris Hooper | Global Director of Brand | Veriff
As a growth marketing leader in the SaaS, fintech and fraud space, I have led the way in transforming how complex businesses such as Google, AWS, Microsoft, GoCardless and Veriff generate new business, grow their most valuable customers, increase revenue and speed up deal cycles. I am a leader in enterprise sales, brand and marketing tactics in the Cloud, SaaS and fintech space and also excel in solution and product marketing, performance marketing, customer journey mapping, lead generation and qualification, demand generation, channel marketing, partner marketing, program building and C-level engagement in the enterprise space.I produce my own sales and marketing thought leadership and regularly host and guest on webinars, podcasts and multi-speaker events. Before moving into marketing, I was an experienced and award-winning print and digital editor, journalist and writer who has worked at some of the UK's most prestigious national newspapers.
Dan Barker | CMO, NED, Consultant |
Daniel Eder | Head of Content & Customer Experience | Pion
Daniel Eder is Head of Content & Customer Experience at Pion, with 10+ years experience in the field. Daniel is responsible for leading Pion's content operations in 100+ markets. In his time at Pion, Daniel has successfully worked on Gen Z campaigns across EMEA, US and APAC regions, leveraging key shopping periods with brands including Amazon, Apple, ASOS, Domino’s Pizza, Gymshark and more. Daniel has first hand experience in adapting to the changes in the economic landscape, and the impacts this has caused on e-commerce consumer buying behaviours and trends over the past decade. Daniel speaks annually at Pion’s flagship event, YMS: The world’s largest youth marketing festival, where retail and ecommerce leaders unite on the future of marketing. This year, Daniel will lead the Performance Playbook track showcasing Pion’s expertise in the performance and affiliate marketing space.
Davina Lines | Managing Director | Mixing Digital
Davina Lines is Managing Director of Mixing Digital and the Ecommerce Club. She brings a wealth of knowledge and a big black book of digital contacts to ensure Mixing Digital’s event management services are of the highest standard. Davina co-founded Netimperative in 1999 and became Managing Director in 2002, stewarding the brand into new product launches and creating one of the most successful events programmes in the digital marketing industry. In the mid 90s Davina cut her digital teeth on New Media Age (now Econsultancy), forming part of the founding team and was responsible for the commercial development of the magazine and its early events from launch in May 1995 to 1999. In recent years Davina launched an ecommerce peer-to-peer community, the Ecommerce Club, which runs regular events in London and Manchester on topics relevant to the retail community.
Hannah Smith | Founder | Worderist
Hannah Smith spent 7 years working in offline marketing (they just called it ‘marketing’ back then) until her fairy godmother told her that the internet was the future. Not one to ignore such sage advice, she made the switch to online marketing in 2007. Over a five and half year period at Distilled, she was part of the creative team which delivered over 14,000 pieces of linked coverage. Then, for close to three years, she led the creative and PR team at Verve Search. In that time she was responsible for launching more than 150 creative content pieces which generated over 8,250 pieces of linked coverage. Her work for clients has won multiple awards, and she’s spoken at numerous conferences including MozCon, SMX, SearchLove, and BrightonSEO. In 2019 she founded Worderist.com offering consultancy, coaching, training, and ongoing support to help agency-side and in-house creative teams make content which delivers results.
Harv Nagra | Head of Brand Communications | Scoro
Harv Nagra is an agency operations consultant, and Head of Brand Communications at agency work management platform Scoro. Harv is also the host of the must-listen podcast The Handbook: The Agency Operations Podcast, where he interviews top agency experts to uncover proven strategies for success — and the pitfalls to avoid.
Herbert De Luca | Digital Marketing Analyst |
Herbert is always in search of knowledge, working with digital marketing and studying neuromarketing, finishing a postgraduate research on the behavioural part of people in social media. Currently, he seeks to consolidate his career and tries to give his best in judgments. His last participation was in the CBMA (Craft Beer Marketing Awards).
Ian Horne | EU Head of Content | Money 20/20
Ian Horne is the head of content for Money20/20 Europe, the continent's biggest independent event for banking, payments and fintech. In this role he liaises with Tier 1 banks, major payment networks, and best-in-class innovators to deliver an onstage agenda that informs, delights, and inspires, combining lively storytelling with pragmatic and focused impact. Besides onstage creation and curation, Ian is a regular co-host of Money20/20 podcasts, a published author on decentralised finance, a media ambassador for the Global Blockchain Business Council, and a regular contributor to industry content, events and publications. He also co-creates and features in numerous advert campaigns for the brand. Prior to starting a career in finance, Ian interviewed a handful of slam winning tennis players and chart-topping country artists in roles for Live-Tennis.com and Maverick Magazine.
Jaime Hill | Ecommerce Director | ex Oak Furnitureland, Hurtigruten & Monsoon Accessorize
Jaime has over two decades of experience as a Marketing & Ecommerce professional with a successful track record leading teams and developing strategy to transform organisations’ digital capability and channels to market. She has had success in roles at brands including Avis, Barclays, Dairy Crest and Oak Furnitureland, and across a wide range of B2B and B2C vertical markets. Most recently, Jaime was Interim Head of Ecommerce & Trading at Monsoon. A graduate of the Institute of Digital Marketing and qualified Executive Business Coach, Jaime's professional passion is for making life easier for the customer at every touch point.
Jo O'Reilly | Freelance Digital PR Consultant |
Jo O’Reilly is a Freelance digital PR consultant based in Chester. She has been working in Digital PR for 6 years and before going freelance had worked both in-house and agency side. Before pivoting to Digital PR she worked as a journalist. She is fascinated with all things digital pr, especially reactive pr and newsjacking.
Joe Lovelace | Head of Communications | BLAST
Joe Lovelace is a PR and communications professional with a proven track record in the sports, gaming, and entertainment industries. With experience spanning top-tier football clubs, global gaming publishers, and major esports events, he excels in delivering high-impact campaigns that drive brand awareness, media exposure, and commercial growth. Currently serving as Head of Communications at BLAST, Joe leads PR strategy across international markets, overseeing press relations, public affairs, and global event communications. His expertise includes crisis communications, influencer engagement, and event media activation. Joe has played a pivotal role in groundbreaking campaigns, including coordinating esports’ biggest event in France with President Emmanuel Macron’s office and leading communications for Fortnite’s largest European tournament. A qualified sports journalist, Joe combines media-savvy storytelling with strategic thinking to elevate brands in competitive landscapes. His passion for sports, entertainment, and gaming fuels his ability to craft compelling narratives that resonate worldwide.
Josephine Soei | Head of Marketing & Communications | DEICHMANN
As Head of Marketing & Communications at Deichmann UK, part of Europe’s largest footwear retailer, Josephine is dedicated to driving market share and enhancing the brand profile in the UK. Leading a dynamic team, she focuses on creating impactful, integrated marketing campaigns that resonate with the audience. Through authentic storytelling and strategic partnerships with brand ambassadors and influencers, she is positioning Deichmann as the go-to destination for family footwear. She was recognised by the British Footwear Association as one of the Top 50 in the footwear industry in 2024.
Kelly Friend | Marketing & Communications Manager, UK & US | WithSecure
Kelly is the UK & US PR Manager for cyber security company WithSecure. With almost 15 years in the industry, Kelly has led technology PR campaigns across industries including healthcare, aviation, subsea oil and gas, and maritime defence.
Kerry Thorpe | Global Head of Communications | Ben & Jerry's
Kerry's role as Global Head of Communications role requires more than tickling taste-buds with flavour news: she works hand-in-hand with Ben & Jerry's Activism Managers and NGO partners to use the ice cream business – and its cross-channel connections with fans – as a force for good. Kerry has co-created social justice campaigns that drive systemic change, most recently on the topics of climate justice, refugee rights and marriage equality.
Lou Nylander | Founder | Wildflowers of London
Lukasz Rogala | Head of SEO & Strategy | VerticalSEO
During his 13-year adventure in the SEO industry, he learned all the "shades" of activities carried out for clients. Knowledge of how to work in-house and in an agency allows him to provide high-quality and non-standard tactics for clients. Currently, he is developing his boutique SEO and Content agency, VerticalSEO, and is responsible for technical SEO for Warner Bros. Discovery in Poland. In the past, he planned and implemented SEO activities for the largest brands in Poland, and also supported them in their activities abroad. He prefers content SEO for breakfast, technical SEO for lunch, and linkbuilding for dinner. This allows him to maintain a good work-life fit. ;)
Lukasz Zelezny | SEO Consultant |
Lukasz Zelezny, UK Search Awards judge, Top10 UK Social Media influencer and former director of organic performance at uSwitch / Zoopla. Currently is working as an independent SEO Consultant helping in organic traffic acquisition, technical SEO and content marketing. Lukasz started his career in 2005 and has since been responsible for the organic performance of a number of companies including HomeAway, Thomson Reuters, The Digital Property Group, Fleetway Travel, uSwitch, Zoopla. Each year Lukasz is speaking at many SEO and social media conferences. He was a speaker at ClickZ Shanghai China, ClickZ Jakarta Indonesia, SiMGA Malta, SES London as well as Marketing Festival in Brno, Brighton SEO in Brighton and UnGagged in London. Every year he is actively participating in 10 to 20 events as an SEO/Social Media keynote speaker. Additionally, he organizes workshops and meetups where he is sharing tips around SEO, Social Media and Analytics.
Magda Marchowska-Raza | Lecturer in Digital Marketing | University of Salford
Magda is passionate about social media marketing and creative marketing. With a strong blend of academic expertise and practical experience, she supports small businesses in leveraging social media to build engagement and drive value. Having recently completed her PhD on value creation and consumer engagement within social media brand communities, she bridges cutting-edge research with actionable insights to help brands thrive in the digital space.
Michelle Gledhill | Employability Lead Department of Marketing, Retail & Tourism | Manchester Metropolitan University
Dr Michelle Gledhill is a specialist in in advertising, branding and media. My former position (2010 to 2022) as Programme Leader for MSc Creative Advertising Strategy combined my expertise in strategic thinking when working on live briefs with brands such as Manchester City, the Happy Linen Company and Rockstar Spirits, with my passion for developing and nurturing student talent in the Manchester and across the UK. This has led to a new role where I am the Marketing Retail and Tourism Employability Lead. She will be working with agencies and businesses to enhance the career prospects of MRT students. Her fascination for branding led her to complete a unique doctoral thesis on how brands are processed whilst playing videogames. She is a highly experienced marketer, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), CIM Senior Examiner and HE Examiner.
Neville Hobson | Social Media Strategist & Communication Adviser and Mentor |
Neville Hobson is a UK-based communication professional, consultant, and podcaster with extensive experience in digital marketing and social media strategies. Over three decades in corporate communication, he has been a prominent figure in how emerging technologies, and social media, shape business, communication, and marketing practices. Neville co-founded the popular business podcast For Immediate Release (FIR) in 2005, offering insights and opinions on public relations, social media, and digital communication to a global audience. Known for his expertise in external and internal communication and the evolving role of AI, Neville has helped organisations use podcasting to enhance their communication and engagement strategies. An early adopter and advocate of digital communication, Neville has been blogging since 2002 and sharing insights at industry and other public events. He is a frequent speaker at client events where he discusses the intersection of technology, communication, and business, and future trends. As a long-serving judge for multiple communication awards contests, he brings a seasoned perspective to evaluating digital communication excellence.
Olivia Townsend | Head of Content | HETT
Olivia Townsend is an award-winning Head of Content and Research with over eight years of experience in communications, stakeholder engagement, and event management. With a strong focus on leading high-performing teams, Olivia has a proven ability to craft and execute impactful strategies that resonate with diverse audiences across a wide range of sectors. Currently, as Head of Content and Research for the Healthcare Portfolio at GovNet, Olivia leads research, campaigns, and content development aimed at advancing technological innovations in the health and care sector. She brings deep expertise in medical, data, and technology topics, creating compelling narratives while fostering key relationships with media outlets, government bodies, and the NHS. Before joining GovNet, Olivia was Content Manager at The Institute of Government and Public Policy, where she spearheaded the development of content strategies to inform and support the public sector and engage the general public. Recently, she was recognized as a trailblazer in her field, earning a spot on the EN 30Under30 list.
Phil Bacon | Marketing Director, Strategist, and Consultant | Marketing Managed
I'm a marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience spanning in-house roles, agency collaborations, and consultancy. My career has taken me across diverse sectors, including education, food, technology, engineering, and manufacturing, where I’ve been involved in almost every aspect and channel in marketing, whether that has been hands-on or managing multiple agency and freelance relationships.
Rachel Cornforth | Head of PR and Communications | Parkdean Resorts
Rachel is an experienced marketing and communications professional working across fashion, education and travel and hospitality over the last 10 years. She has a broad, multi-disciplinary skillset with experience in brand, content production, event production, digital marketing and communications. She was named on Northern Power Women’s 'Future List' in 2023 for her internal communications work and dedication to equity and inclusion and in her role at Parkdean Resorts she brings together Customer and Colleague communications and Reactive and Consumer PR.
Rachel Letham | Head of Brand & Communications | The Marketing Society
Rachel Letham is Head of Brand and Communications at The Marketing Society, leading strategic brand development and integrated communications for the global membership organisation. With over 20 years of experience, she combines commercial expertise with creative vision to transform organisations through innovative content strategies while serving as a key member of the Leadership Team. Alongside her corporate role, Rachel is a certified positive mindset coach, working with global organisations including Google and Target. Drawing from her experience of near-burnout in the fresh produce industry, she helps both individuals and organisations align strategic goals with purposeful vision-setting. Her work demonstrates the power of combining strategic brand thinking with positive mindset techniques to drive organisational success.
Rachel Owen | UK Brand & Corporate Communications Head | 3M
Rachel is an accomplished communications professional with a proven track record in devising and executing communications strategies that drive organisational growth and enhance brand reputation. With experience in a range of B2B sectors, Rachel now leads brand and corporate communications at 3M in the UK and Ireland, a company well known for its innovation and diverse product portfolio with focus on healthcare, consumer goods, industrial products, safety, electronics and energy. Rachel excels in crafting engaging strategies for internal and external audiences while developing relationships that help deliver impactful messaging across multiple channels. Her passion for innovation, sustainability and promoting STEM learning helps drive 3M’s reputation in the UK and further afield.
Rejoice Oijaku | SEO Manager | Nelson Bostock UNLIMITED
Rejoice has worked within digital marketing (SEO) for 4+ years. After finishing her master’s degree in marketing at The University of Manchester, she started her journey as a Junior SEO Executive and is now an SEO Manager as well as the Co-Founder & Content Lead for B-DigitalUK. She specialises in Content SEO and she has spoken at BrightonSEO, Whitespark Local Search Summit as well as participated in webinars for FounderVine, Majestic, Noisy Little Monkey etc. Additionally, she is also an Award-Winning Diversity & Inclusion Advocate as she is passionate about Diversity & Inclusion within the workplace to ensure the perspective and struggles of Black people are heard.
Sacha Thomas | Internal Communications Content Manager | River Island
Sacha Thomas is an Internal Communications Content Manager at River Island, bringing creativity and strategic thinking to how the brand connects with its people. With a passion for storytelling and employee engagement, she crafts compelling content that cuts through the noise and makes an impact. Whether launching campaigns, refining messaging, or finding fresh ways to bring RI’s culture to life, Sacha ensures that every Islander stays informed, inspired, and connected – and she loves every second of it.
Steve Kuncewicz | Partner - Head Of Creative, Digital & Marketing | Glaisyers ETL
Steve is a Partner and Head of Creative, Digital and Marketing at Glaisyers ETL in Manchester. He specialises in intellectual property, media social media and privacy law and is listed as a "recommended lawyer" in the Legal 500, and was a oo-founder pf the Bulletproof Agency Network. He is a regular media spokesperson, and has given interviews to the local and national press through BBC Breakfast, Sky News, ITV, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live and LBC London. Steve is also the Manchester Publicity Association’s Honorary Solicitor.
Steven Wade | Head of Content | IR Impact
Steve Wade is head of content for IR Impact and Governance Intelligence. In his role, Steve and his team are responsible for researching and producing insightful content that helps the investor relations and governance communities stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices in their fields. Steve curates content across multiple platforms, including conferences, workshops, think tanks, podcasts, best practice guides, videos and websites. Steve guides editorial coverage and research to ensure they fulfill the needs of our communities and is responsible for hosting our conferences and presenting research at industry events. Prior to joining IR Impact and Governance Intelligence, Steve’s experience has been in ESG and sustainability research, producing conferences for Ethical Corporation (now Reuters Events.) During this time, Steve was a judge for the Deloitte Green Frog Awards and presented research at the Global Sustainable Events Summit and United Nations Global Compact, World Bank & Polish Ministry of Finance events.
Tom Bangay | Senior Director, Content & Community | Juro
Tom Bangay is the Senior Director of Content & Community at Juro, the intelligent contract automation platform. Tom has more than fifteen years' experience in content across legal, finance and B2B SaaS. His particular areas of expertise are thought leadership, SEO, community, website strategies, multimedia content and brand marketing.
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