Cyber, Design, Direct Lions jury presidents named

“We have appointed three extraordinarily accomplished experts to lead the Cyber, Design and Direct Lions categories. We are truly honoured to be working with them as their talent will add another dimension to these categories,” states Terry Savage, festival chairman.

Jeff Benjamin

He joined Crispin Porter + Bogusky at the end of 2003 and works on brands such as Burger King, Microsoft, Domino's Pizza, Coke Zero and Geek Squad. He began his career at Modem Media specialising in GIF banner optimisation before joining Goodby, Silverstein & Partners where he worked on HP, Saturn, and Goodyear.

His work has been recognised nationally and internationally by every major award show. He has won the Grand Prix at Cannes in three different categories, the Best of Show at the One Show, and the Grand Clio at the Clio Awards. His work has been showcased in several publications, including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Communication Arts, Time and Newsweek. Benjamin has also been a featured commentator on CNBC.

“When I started my career, the thought of ever stepping on stage at Cannes seemed fairly impossible. Therefore, you can only imagine what it feels like to be trusted with the honour of guiding this year's Cyber jury. Over the years, the Cyber Lion has become the most coveted of Lions, redefining and pushing our industry forward. I expect this year to be no different,” says Benjamin on his appointment.

Steff Geissbuhler

As a partner of C&G Partners, he is among America's most celebrated designers of integrated brand and corporate identity programs. His work for a broad spectrum of international and national clients includes identity systems for NBC, Merck, Time Warner cable, Telemundo, Voice of America, Toledo Museum of Art, National Parks of New York Harbor, Crane & Co, Calamos Investments, Conrad Hotels and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Prior to forming C&G Partners, he was a partner at Chermayeff & Geismar Inc. for 30 years.

In 2005, his work was honoured with the American Institute of Graphic Arts Medal for his sustained contribution to design excellence and the development of the profession. He is also the recipient of the US Federal Achievement Design Award and several awards from the Art Directors Clubs and the International Poster Biennales.

“Design is being recognised in Cannes as a fundamental ingredient in advertising. This will be the third year that design will be judged as its own category. I was very lucky to be a part of the inaugural jury and now will have the privilege to chair this one. It will be hard work and a lot of fun. The location is fabulous and the parties are fantastic and seeing great work is always inspiring,” says Geissbuhler. “We hope that more and more design firms, along with agencies, will submit work to this famous competition,” he continued.

Pablo Alzugaray

As CEO of Shackleton, he set up the independent group of agencies in 2004. Prior to this, he started his career at di Paola in Argentina before moving to Spain where he headed the Contrapunto Group (Contrapunto and CP Proximity), took part in setting up Proximity Worldwide and was a member of the BBDO Board of Directors.

By 2009, Shackleton was operating out of both Madrid and Barcelona with a portfolio of more than 90 clients and a staff of more than 200 people. Within a mere five years, Shackleton was ranked 10th best agency in the world across all disciplines and the number one direct marketing agency in the world in the 2007 and 2008 Won Report. In Spain, Shackleton was voted Agency of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and was named Cannes Lions Direct Agency of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The agency won the Direct Cannes Lions Grand Prix in 2007, the Echo Diamond Award 2008 and the Effie Grand Prix 2008.

Alzugaray has served on the jury at the Cannes Lions Festival, El Ojo de Iberoamerica, Echo Awards, Imán, Club de Creativos as well as Jury President at Eurobest and El Sol.

He chairs the Asociación de Agencias de Marketing Directo (AGEMDI), and is a Board Member of Asociación Española de Agencias de Publicidad (AEAP) and the Federación Española de Comercio Electrónico y Marketing Directo (FECEMD).

Commenting on his appointment as Direct Lions jury president, Alzugaray said, “The first time I came to Cannes I was young and had little money so I made a fake pass and ended up in the organisers office. That was a long time ago, but I still feel the thrill of attending every year. Seeing better work than yours makes you want to improve. Being jury president will not only be a more relaxed way to attend the festival free of charge than my first, but also a great honour to which I shall respond with rigour.”
For further information go to www.canneslions.com.