Brett Colliver

Brett lives and works about as far from Cannes as one can get – New Zealand. After moving there from Australia early in his career, he’s worked at some of the region’s best agencies, including DDB, Clemenger BBDO, and Colenso BBDO. He now resides at Dentsu Creative where he and his partner, Mike Felix, are Chief Creative Officers. 

Over the years he’s experienced the full spectrum of Cannes, from competing in the Young Lions print competition, to winning over 40 Lions, including a Titanium Lion and the Outdoor Grand Prix. He was also a judge on the last ever Cyber Jury to be convened in 2017. 

In 2024, the use of an outdated term like ‘cyber’ in his bio is making him cringe a little, but he is thrilled to be sitting on this year’s Direct jury. 

Julie Scelzo

Julie Scelzo is the vibrant force driving creativity as Global Chief Creative Officer for Global Clients and Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu Creative Chicago. She joined Dentsu NY in 2018 as the Global Executive Creative Director overseeing the Global American Express business. 

Julie began her creative journey at Leo Burnett Chicago, where she left a mark across diverse brands, from P&G to Altoids. She then moved West to FCB SF where she led Global creative for Levi’s – launching the ‘Live in Levi’s’ campaign that remains the creative platform to date. 

With almost two decades of agency experience under her belt, Julie transitioned to the realm of social media, joining Meta as a Creative Strategist. There, she collaborated directly with agencies and brands to elevate their creative presence on these platforms. She then joined Pandora Music, as the company's first in-house Executive Creative Director, building a dynamic creative team of over 100 professionals. Her work there earned prestigious awards such as a Cannes Lion and Clio. 

Julie has appeared on Adweek’s 2019 Creative 100, Business Insiders’ 33 most creative women, and most recently was named to Campaign US 2024 class of Inspiring Women. 

Rafik Belmesk

Rafik leads the strategy teams at Dentsu Creative Canada. Throughout his career, he has held strategic roles in brand, customer engagement, digital and social change across APAC and North America. This cross-discipline path has shaped his holistic, media-neutral approach to communications and its impact on brands and organizations. 

In the last few years, he has applied his approach to local and international brands such as Intel, Subway, SkipExpressLane, VW, Audi, McDonald’s, SingTel, Unilever, Amnesty International and WWF. He has an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a client’s issue, to reframe it as an opportunity in an instant, and to inspire refreshing ideas around him. 

His work has been recognized at effectiveness and creative award shows both locally and internationally including Cannes Lions, Effies, D&AD and Clio Awards. These days though, he’s prouder of his department’s turnover-rate, which stands near- zero in the last four years, despite the great resignation. 

Vivien Chou

Vivien Chou, the Executive Creative Director at Dentsu Creative / Isobar Taiwan, has led her team to remarkable breakthroughs since joining the agency. Not only have they made significant strides in Taiwan's major awards, but they have also propelled Isobar onto the international stage, showcasing exceptional creative prowess. 

Vivien's creative works have been recognized in prestigious events such as Cannes Lions and other major international advertising awards. In 2023, she secured a Bronze Lion at the inaugural Entertainment Lions category at the Cannes Lions Festival. In 2016, she clinched Taiwan's first-ever Gold Pencil at the One Show. o date, Vivien has won over 100 awards, including numerous Grand Prix honors. In 2023, she was honored as Taiwan's Outstanding Creative Person. 

With her profound creative insights and market acumen, along with a passion for innovative technology, Vivien consistently delivers exceptional value and solutions for her clients. She is dedicated to nurturing young creative talents and plays a significant role in the industry. 

Vivien Chou, the Executive Creative Director at Dentsu Creative / Isobar Taiwan, has led her team to remarkable breakthroughs since joining the agency. Not only have they made significant strides in Taiwan's major awards, but they have also propelled Isobar onto the international stage, showcasing exceptional creative prowess. 

Vivien's creative works have been recognized in prestigious events such as Cannes Lions and other major international advertising awards. In 2023, she secured a Bronze Lion at the inaugural Entertainment Lions category at the Cannes Lions Festival. In 2016, she clinched Taiwan's first-ever Gold Pencil at the One Show. o date, Vivien has won over 100 awards, including numerous Grand Prix honors. In 2023, she was honored as Taiwan's Outstanding Creative Person. 

With her profound creative insights and market acumen, along with a passion for innovative technology, Vivien consistently delivers exceptional value and solutions for her clients. She is dedicated to nurturing young creative talents and plays a significant role in the industry. 

Andreas

Andre is a creative who firmly believes in the power of hard work and passion, considering them as true talents in themselves. From igniting his passion for advertising during high school and earning his first professional award during an internship, Andre's hardworking attitude has brought him numerous accolades, from local to international, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, Effies, and One Show. 

In 2022, he was promoted to Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Creative Indonesia. Under his leadership, the agency achieved four consecutive years as Creative Media Agency of the Year in the biggest Indonesian creative award show. In the same year, he made a history that had never happened before by winning Media, Digital, and Creative Agency of the Year for Dentsu Creative Indonesia. 

In 2023, he brought back Indonesia's name to the regional and international award level. He proudly represented Indonesia's name by winning several awards at Spikes Asia, Effies, Cannes Lions, and One Show. 

He dreams of building the gold generation of creative Indonesians by creating his own education channel, mentoring young talent for young creative competitions, and leading multiple workshops in agencies and universities. 

Gastón Cánaves

With over 15 years of experience in the industry, Gastón "Tonga" Cánaves had worked in agencies such as Ogilvy, Geometry (VML), and Wunderman Thompson, serving clients throughout his career such as Volkswagen, Cinemark-Hoyts, Shell, Coca-Cola, Volvo, Unilever, KFC, and Movistar, among others. 

As a creative, many of his works have been awarded in the most important festivals worldwide, including 2 Grand Prix at Cannes Lions and GPs and golds at Clios, One Show, D&AD, LIA, The Andys, Epica, El Ojo de Iberoamérica, among many others. In 2023 he reached the #31 position in The Drum’s World Creative Rankings 2023. 

Since 2021, he had been part of Dentsu Creative Argentina, and in 2022, he assumed as the agency's ECD. 

Stacy Andersen

With nearly two decades of dedicated expertise in digital consultancy, omnichannel strategy, CXM, and transformation, Stacy has spent much of her career navigating dynamic digital landscapes to deliver impactful solutions to clients worldwide. 

Currently serving as Deputy Managing Director at Merkle MENA, Stacy previously held various leadership positions across major holding groups both in the Americas and MENA, including Head of Digital Transformation and Innovation at Publicis Groupe. She was responsible for opening Hearts & Science MENA, and worked at Merkle New York prior to dentsu’s acquisition of the company. Throughout her celebrated career she has worked with a diverse range of clients, including HBO, NEOM, Nestle, BMW, Samsung, LVMH, Emirates, American Express, and Amazon. 

Her distinguished service as a judge at the WARC Awards for Effectiveness and the MENA Effie Awards reflects her commitment to excellence and industry leadership. With a multicultural background cultivated through living in nine cities across three countries, Stacy possesses a remarkable ability to connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds, approaching business challenges with agnosticism and empathy. 

Driven by a passion for pushing boundaries and achieving business growth, Stacy maintains a courageously optimistic approach to adopting new methodologies and technologies to reach new heights of innovation. 

Yuko Kitakaze

As Global Chief Sustainability Officer, dentsu and member of the Group Management Team, Yuko is responsible for the development and implementation of the Group's sustainability strategy. She also chairs the Group Sustainability Committee. 

Upon graduating from the University of Tokyo, Yuko joined Dentsu Inc. and founded the company's first laboratory, ‘Mama Lab’ in 2008. She was involved in the development and implementation of various plans as a strategic planner for client companies' marketing and new businesses. After working as the Managing Director of the Creative Planning Division, Executive Officer and the first Chief Diversity Officer of Dentsu Japan Network and dentsu Japan Chief Sustainability Officer, she has been in her current position since 2024. 

Yuko is a Board Member of the Japan Wheelchair Basketball Federation, a convener of the PRIDE 1000 Corporate Executive Ally Network, Forbes JAPAN Web official columnist and Pink Ribbon Advisor. 

Series: "Breast Cancer, my 'Turning Point'" https://forbesjapan.com/series/breastcancer 

Books: ‘Internet suru mama shinai mama (Moms Who use the Internet, Moms Who don't use the Internet)’, ‘Lohas/book’.

Yasuharu Sasaki

Yasuharu Sasaki, known as Yasu, began working at dentsu as a copywriter in 1995. Drawing on his skills as a Computer Science graduate he was an early pioneer of interactive advertising. His passion for creativity and technology has been a marked characteristic throughout his career, notably when he founded cutting edge R&D offering, Dentsu Lab Tokyo in 2014. His time at dentsu, which has included working in New York as an Executive Creative Director and Managing Director at dentsu Tokyo, has seen Yasu deliver work for global clients including Uniqlo, Honda and Coca-Cola. 

As well as receiving the highest recognition at all major international award shows, Yasu has sat on numerous juries, including Cannes Lions Brand Experience & Activation Jury President in 2022 and Head of Jury at the 2023 APAC Effies. 

In October 2023 Yasu was named dentsu’s Global Chief Creative Officer, responsible for leading dentsu’s global Creative Practice, including Dentsu Creative. He sets the standard for creative excellence and is key to building a culture of creativity and innovation across the whole of dentsu. 

Collette Douaihy

Collette has dedicated most of her career to the healthcare industry and wouldn’t have it any other way. She believes that great work begins and ends with a big idea but knows it takes more than that. It takes discovering extraordinary creative talent and giving them the platform and empowerment to do great work. It takes empathy and understanding to see things from the customer’s perspective to deliver work that has the power to change lives. 

After spending over a decade at Publics/Digitas Health and Evoke — agency experiences that fueled her career, she found herself in a new challenge. Collette joined Dentsu to help set the course for the launch of Dentsu Health, ambition, and commitment to unlock opportunities for growth across the network. 

Collette has had the privilege of serving on the Pharma and Health & Wellness Juries at the Cannes Lions Festival, the Clio Health Awards, The Global Awards, The London International Awards, and The One Show. In 2023, she served as Jury Chair for Clio Health, and in 2022, the Jury President of the London International Awards for Craft. Collette’s work has been recognized for creative excellence by Cannes Lions, LIAs, Cresta Awards, MM&M Awards, DTC Awards, RX Club, Addy Awards, and Creative Floor. 

Prerna Mehrotra

Prerna Mehrotra is the Chief Client Officer and CEO, Media at Dentsu Asia-Pacific. With over 20 years’ experience across multiple industries, Prerna has witnessed how the evolution of technology has transformed the industry. She is passionate about the role media plays in influencing culture, delivering innovative brand experiences and driving social good. 

Acting as a growth partner for clients has been at the core of Prerna’s career journey and she draws from this experience to unlock new value through dentsu’s expertise in Media, Creativity and CXM. 

Prior to joining dentsu in 2016, Prerna held prominent positions in leading media agencies in India, China and Singapore. She is a regular speaker, judge and mentor in the Advertising & Communications industry and sits on dentsu’s Global Media Executive and dentsu Asia Pacific’s Executive. She sits on the board of MMA APAC and was Media Jury President at Spikes Asia 2023.