The Gerety Awards has announced the full Global Executive Jury for its 2026 edition, an international collective of creative leaders who will define this year’s shortlist. They will be led by Gerety Awards’ 2026 jury presidents, in fifteen in-person jury sessions worldwide. The jury represents the full breadth of the communications industry, from creatives and strategists to producers, filmmakers, brand leaders and social specialists, reflecting the diverse perspectives that the Gerety Awards was founded to champion.
Executive judging sessions will take place in London, Auckland, Toronto, New York, Paris, Stockholm, Hong Kong, Dubai, Madrid, Milan, Mexico City, Bangkok, Los Angeles, Berlin and São Paulo. Each session brings together influential regional voices who understand how work resonates locally, while collectively contributing to a global creative standard.
“Having the Gerety Awards land in New Zealand feels like a big moment for our industry. There’s an incredible community of female talent here – smart, brave and culturally sharp – creating work that stands up anywhere in the world. This is a chance to shine a light on that strength and celebrate the perspectives that make our region unique,” commented Leisa Wall, co-chief creative officer, McCann and jury co-president for the New Zealand jury.
Isobel Kerr-Newell, CEO, Artemis Communications and jury co-president in New Zealand added, “In assembling this jury, and being the first time New Zealand has hosted, we felt it was important to bring together all the different facets that make our industry here in Aotearoa so special. We are truly honoured to be leading such a strong group of creative leaders, changemakers and challengers. We look forward to the opportunity to both celebrate the work and strengthen the connections between women in our industry, here and across the global Gerety community.”
Andrea Siqueira, CCO & partner at AMPFY and jury president for São Paulo, stated, “Last year marked the first time when machine-generated text content surpassed human-generated content on the internet. That’s why this celebration of creativity is so important. Being part of Gerety Awards, and to lead it, is a big honor and a big responsibility with our creative industry.”
“The Gerety Awards brings together some of the sharpest creative minds in the industry, and the fact that it’s built around female creative and business leaders isn’t incidental, it’s part of what makes the perspective in that room so powerful. Serving as New York jury president is a genuine honour. I’m looking forward to championing work that’s bold, culturally resonant, and built to matter—just like the women judging alongside me,” added Shannon Washington, chief creative officer, 11 OUNCES.
More than 260 judges from 50 countries will join the 2026 Gerety Awards. The members of the executive jury for Auckland are:
- Isobel Kerr-Newell, CEO, Artemis Communications
- Leisa Wall, Co-Chief Creative Officer, McCann
- Kristal Knight, Creative Consultant
- Arnya Karaitiana, Creative Director, Kaiārahi Māori, Special Group Aotearoa
- Storm Day, CEO, Droga5 / NZ Lead Accenture Song
- Edwina Neilson, General Manager, Marketing Green Cross Health – Unichem and Life Pharmacy
- Cece Chu, Associate Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi
- Melina Fiolitakis, Creative Director, Motion Sickness
- Jane Sweeney, Executive Chair & Co-Founder, Anthem
- Laura Cibilich, Founder & Design Director, Run Aotearoa
- Michaela Chilton, Brand Strategy & Experience Manager, Mercury
- Rebekah ‘Bex’ Kelly, Executive Producer, FINCH company
- Penelope Brown, Managing Director, Together
The 2206 jury presidents were announced here:
The Gerety Awards are recognised within leading global industry rankings, such as The Drum World Creative Rankings, and from 2026, Gerety winners will also be included in the Campaign Brief Asia Rankings, ensuring that awarded work contributes directly to the international performance tables that shape agency and creative reputations worldwide.
Alongside the judging sessions, Gerety will host a series of industry events and talks in several of the host cities such as London, Bangkok, New York, Berlin, Melbourne and Paris, creating space for conversation, connection and shared thinking around the ideas shaping creativity today. Find more information here.
The Early Bird deadline for entries is March 13.
Gerety welcomes submissions across all categories, including the newly introduced Moments Cut, celebrating work that captures the cultural moments shaping our world right now.
Eligible entries must have been broadcast, published or released in a commercial environment with client approval between January 1, 2025 and the final entry deadline.
Work is judged on two core principles, the originality of the creative idea and the quality of its execution.
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