MAD STARS has confirmed its Executive Jury lineup for 2026, bringing together five highly accomplished and influential figures across global marketing, advertising and creative industries.

The Executive Jury will lead a judging process that ensures awarded work is evaluated accurately and reflects evolving standards in creativity, effectiveness and innovation.

Anny Havercroft, global head of product marcoms at TikTok, and Sandipan Bhattacharyya, CCO at Monks, join previously announced members, Raja Rajamannar, senior fellow, former chief marketing & communications officer at Mastercard; Tara McKenty, CCO at AKQA Australia & New Zealand; and Aurora Straton, creative lead at Google.

The Executive Jury will lead a jury of more than 350 professionals from 75 locations, representing brands, agencies, digital content, media and innovation sectors.

The judging will take place three phases, designed to ensure consistency and depth in evaluation across categories.

• Preliminary Judging: 1 – 15 July 2026 (Online)
• Final Judging 1st Round: 24 July – 6 August 2026 (Online)
• Final Judging 2nd & Last Round: 24 August 2026 (On-site in Busan)

The Executive Jury will oversee each stage to ensure the highest standards of evaluation.

Introducing the Executive Jury:

Anny Havercroft is a distinguished marketing leader, who brought award-winning, progressive and visionary marketing communications leadership and global advertising agency experience to TikTok, as well as a history of consulting to top tier ASX, FTSE and Dow Jones companies.

A leader with a proven track record of driving innovation and delivering impactful business outcomes across the world, she spearheads initiatives that educate, inspire and connect businesses with TikTok’s dynamic ecosystem, fostering creativity and growth across the world. Before TikTok, she held senior leadership roles at Yahoo and WPP, where she led digital transformation initiatives and developed integrated marketing strategies across the UK and Australia.

Sandipan Bhattacharyya is one of the most highly awarded creative leaders in Asia-Pacific, with over 24 years of experience across global agency networks including Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO and GREY.

He has steered some of India’s most famous work over a two-decade career spanning Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO, and Grey South Asia, where he served as chief creative officer. He led the transformation of GREY’s creative capabilities. Under his leadership, GREY was ranked among the top creative agencies in India by Campaign Brief Asia, The One Club Global Rankings and the Cannes Global Creativity Report. He also led the agency to win India’s first Entertainment Lion and its first D&AD Yellow Pencil. Currently CCO at Monks, he leads creative output across the agency’s portfolio, working with both Indian and global brands while advancing the integration of technology and creativity.

Raja Rajamannar is widely recognised as one of the most influential global marketing leaders of the past decade. During his 12-year tenure as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Mastercard, he helped transform the company into one of the fastest-growing global brands, infusing emerging technologies and advanced data analytics, while pioneering new standards in inclusive design.

Aurora Straton is known for bridging creativity and technology to develop work grounded in human insight, and for championing the role of technology as a driver of meaningful and positive change. Straton’s 20+ years of experience across the global creative industry includes over a decade within Google’s innovation ecosystem, now as creative lead.

Tara McKenty leads creative direction across the region as chief creative officer at AKQA Australia & New Zealand. Her career has been defined by the integration of technology, craft, and effectiveness in creative leadership. McKenty also founded Rare with Google, an initiative designed to provide equitable opportunities for underrepresented creatives to thrive at every stage of their careers.

Entries Open as Early Bird Deadline Approaching

MAD STARS 2026 continues to accept entries from around the world, with submissions currently in the Early Bird phase.

• Entry Timeline (All times in KST)
• 1st deadline (Early Bird): 8 May 2026
• 2nd deadline (Regular): 29 May 2026
• Final deadline: 15 June 2026

Entries can be submitted via www.madstars.org.

MAD STARS 2026 will take place from 26 to 28 August in Busan, South Korea, under this year’s theme, AMPLIFY.