LIA is almost ready to begin judging. The deadline for entries, June 10, is just two weeks away. And the final jury president, for the NEW, has been named. Emad Tahtouh, Finch’s director of applied technology at FINCH has been chosen to lead the NEW jury.

“The NEW category at LIA is such a wonderfully challenging and exciting experience. By very definition, the work must be considered unique or special in some way. However, these are not easily identifiable or agreeable by consensus,” Tahtouh commented.

The NEW’s sections are Brand Content, Brand Experience, Creative Technology, Media Innovation, Technology Development and Virtual Reality.

“While a lot of other categories have clear metrics and years of previous work by which to measure and compare, The NEW does not have that luxury. For me, that’s the most exciting aspect to the medium. For the jury, watching, experiencing, discussing and awarding work which we consider to be groundbreaking or revolutionary, will result in the most thought-provoking and exhilarating conversations we will have all year.”

Discovering what’s new is, in fact, Tahtouh’s job at Finch. He develops and curates technology solutions in both practical and creative capacities. He is rather good at that. A D&AD Black Pencil for The Most Powerful Arm for Save Our Sons, The Duchenne Foundation is testament to that. It was the first piece of Innovation to win a Blank Pencil. It also won a number of international awards.

Tahtouh has judged at LIA, Cannes and AWARD, and has been a presenter at Cannes, Spikes, SXSW, LIA, Semi Permanent and SAWA.

The NEW 2016 Jury is:

•  Emad Tahtouh – Jury President – Director, Applied Technology, FINCH, Paddington
•  Lars Bastholm – Global Chief Creative Officer, The Zoo (Google), Los Angeles
• Emiliano Gonzalez De Pietri – Associate CCO, Circus Grey, Lima
• Laura Jordan-Bambach – Creative Partner, Mr President, London
• Andrew McKechnie – Global Group Creative Director, Apple, Cupertino
• Taras Wayner – EVP / Executive Creative Director – US, R/GA, New York
• Faris Yakob – Founder, Genius Steals, Nashville

Tahtouh joins the best of the best as one of 12 LIA jury presidents. They are:

• Non-traditional: Mark Tutssel, Global Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Worldwide
• and Creative Chairman, Publicis Communications

•  Branded Entertainment: Rob Reilly, Global Creative Chairman, McCann Worldgroup
• Print • Poster • Billboard: Susan Credle, Global Chief Creative Officer, FCB
• TV/Cinema/Online Film: Stephan Vogel, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Germany
•  Digital: Andreas Dahlqvist, Chief Creative Officer, Grey New York
•  Integration: Malcolm Poynton, Global Chief Creative Officer, Cheil Worldwide
• Verbal Identity: Chris West, Managing Director, Verbal Identity Ltd.
•  Design and Package Design: Pum Lefebure, Co-Founder & CCO, Design Army
•  The NEW: Emad Tahtouh, Director, Applied Technology, Finch
•  Music Video and Production & Post-Production: Diane Jackson, Chief Production Officer, DDB Chicago
•  Music & Sound: Sander van Maarschalkerweerd, Founder / Managing Director, Sizzer Amsterdam
•  Radio & Audio: Paul Wauters, Co-Founder / ECD, Babel

 Need to get your entry in? Everything you need to know to enter is here.