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List of regional judges

• Dubai: Aimen Alwan, freelance designer – Alwan has worked in the design field for more than 17 years and has been involved in branding projects for many international branding agencies, where he specialises in brand identities and the Arabisation of English wordmarks.

• Dubai: Alok Mohan, creative director at Impact BBDO – Mohan has amassed a host of awards across D&AD, One Show, LIA, Clio, New York Festivals and Dubai Lynx, and he has done it all in just nine years, which explains why he is considered one of the Middle East’s most awarded creatives. 
• Kenya: Jason Nartey, creative head at Scanad, Africa – Nartey is an African creative having worked and led projects in over 10 African countries (including Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal, Cameroun and South Africa) over the span of his 15-year career. This included leading his team to the status of ‘Most awarded Agency in Ghana’ during his time at Origin8 Saatchi & Saatchi and as the most awarded agency in the country (7th & 8th Local Advertising Awards) as Creative Head of Scanad Ghana.
• Kenya: Martin Karanja Kiare, CEO at Bluetooth Enabled Advertising Networks (Bean) – Kiare founded Bean in 2009 and today it is Kenya’s largest independent digital agency, proving the success of the strong disruption ethos and family culture, he has built. Named among Kenya’s Top 40 Men under 40, Martin knew his disruption strategy was working when Bean Interactive won platinum at the Ava Digital Awards. 
• Kenya: Mathieu Plassard, CEO at Ogilvy Africa – a 20-year plus veteran, Plassard started as a strategic planner with Y&R in Paris. He joined Ogilvy & Mather in 2000 and in 2014, he joined Ogilvy Africa as regional MD to accelerate the growth of the group in sub-Saharan Africa. 
• Kenya: Waithera Kabiru, digital marketing manager, Coca-Cola Central East & West Africa – For the past five years Kabiru has led digital content and connections for Coca-Cola in sub-Saharan Africa, taking the digital lead on successful marketing campaigns that include A Billion Reasons to Believe in Africa, 2014 Fifa World Cup, Coke Studio Africa, Share a Coke and Taste the Feeling. Before this, she headed the Digital Media Unit of 98.4 Capital FM Kenya, where she was instrumental in establishing the radio station’s mobile and social platforms.
• Namibia: Chrisna Basson, head of strategy at Weathermen & Co – Basson is judging the Loeries for the second consecutive year. A native Namibian, she has worked on a wide range of big and small brands for JWT in South Africa and Germany, and for King James in Cape Town. It was there that she was a key member of the team that helped create a strategy for the Johnnie Walker brand, which saw it, end a challenging period with the award-winning ‘Meet Your Match’ and ‘Johnnie Walker Wager’ campaigns. 
• Nigeria: Adaora Adheke, MD at Peacock Media – Adheke is Cannes Jury President/Chairperson for the 2017 Young Lions Media Award, having been a Cannes jurist from 2010 – 2016. However, it is not just her Cannes experience that qualifies her to judge the Loeries 2017, she was named Excellent Personality in Nigeria Women in Media in 2012. In 2015, she was nominated to several roles for Nigeria’s Media Independent Practitioners Association, including chairperson of the Technical Committee. 
• Nigeria: Bolaji Alausa, ECD at Noah’s Ark – Noah’s Ark is the top agency outside South Africa in sub-Saharan Africa according to the Loeries 2016 Agency Ranking. Alausa knows what it feels like to win a Loerie and a Young Lion, which he did in 2009, leading to him representing Nigeria in Cannes. 
• Nigeria: Steve Babaeko, CEO & CCO at X3m Ideas – In addition to his leadership roles at X3M Ideas, Babaeko is the founder of X3M Music, a record label focused primarily on developing young talent. In addition, nurturing young talent in the art of self-reliance is one of his specialities. Driven by creativity and challenge, he is a writer, consumer behaviour analyst, and brand builder. With 20 years of industry experience (MC&A Saatchi & Saatchi, Prima Garnet Ogilvy and 141 Worldwide) he founded X3M Ideas in 2012. 
• Zambia: Fred Muthandeni Phiri, MD at Vertical Limit Productions – A man with the Twitter handle @FreddyBanknotes is not going to be an ordinary man, is he? Phiri is a multiple award-winner of the entertainment production industry, as well as a filmmaker who is equally at home in music, print, radio, TV, live events, marketing and communication. Aside from an extensive list of TV and music productions and collaborations, his body of work includes co-production of the Zambian Music Awards (2013, 2014 and 2016), co-founding the Hip Hop Foundation of Zambia, and member of the Parents Partnership for Children with Special Needs.

Loeries judging will be held at the Durban ICC during Creative Week (Monday 14 August 2017 - Thursday 17 August 2017) preceding the awards ceremonies. The result of the judging showcases the best of brand communication from our region.