With five entrants, the top shortlisted media company for this year’s Media Leaders Awards is Digital Cinema Media (DCM), followed by Zenith and Wavemaker with four. Hearst, Ozone and PwC with three entrants, are just behind.
The leaders of Wavemaker, Zenith, Starcom, and Initiative are in the running for agency leader of the year. Meanwhile, leaders at Hearst, DCM, Alight Media, and Channel 4 are shortlisted for media owner leader of the year.
All the winners will be announced on 26 April at a ceremony in London.
The awards feature 16 categories, including three new categories celebrating excellence in the three core issues The Media Leader is championing throughout 2022: sustainability, talent, and trust.
This year’s panel of 20 judges includes industry leaders in their own right from across media, including IPA director-general Paul Bainsfair, Newsworks CEO Jo Allan, Advertising Association CEO Stephen Woodford, Thinkbox CEO Lindsey Clay, ISBA director-general Phil Smith, Route Research CEO Denise Turner, and The Media Leader‘s very own editor Omar Oakes.
Steve Scaffardi, who this month was promoted to managing director of Adwanted Events & Publishing, said of this year’s candidates: “This year we have received yet again a record number of entries, but it is not the number of entries that impressed the judges, but more the quality of those entries.
“We could have easily ended up with much longer shortlists for some of the categories, but after some really tough decisions, we have an incredibly strong list of companies and individuals for this years Media Leaders Awards. Congratulations to all of those who have made the shortlist, and commiserations to all the excellent entries that just missed out. Each category was genuinely very close, which I think shows that the industry is still thriving despite the difficult challenges we’re facing.”
The shortlist
Grand Prix: Media Leader of the Year
To be announced; chosen by our judges from the five senior leadership category winners (Agency, Media Owner, Advertising, Technology, and International).
Agency Leader of the Year
- James Shoreland, CEO, Initiative UK
- Kelly Parker, CEO, Wavemaker UK
- Nadine Young, CEO, Starcom
- Nat Cummins, CEO, Zenith UK
Media Owner Leader of the Year
- Jane Wolfson, chief commercial officer, Hearst
- Karen Stacey, CEO, DCM
- Matthew Dearden, founder and CEO, Alight Media
- Verica Djurdjevic, chief revenue officer, Channel 4
Advertiser Leader of the Year
- Emily Latham Head of Digital Marketing and Martech, Channel 4
- Helen Brooks, Head of Media, EMEA, Kimberley-Clark
- Neil Harrison, Head of Media, VM O2
- Olya Dyachuk, Data Driven Media Director, Heineken
Tech Leader of the Year
- Damon Reeve, CEO, Ozone
- Emma Newman, chief revenue officer, PubMatic
- Karen Nelson-Field, founder and CEO, Amplified Intelligence
- Nicola Lewis, global CEO, Finecast
- Sam Tomlinson, partner, PwC UK
International Leader of the Year
- Caroline Tran, group planning director, Wavemaker
- Duncan Chater, managing director, Europe, Bloomberg Media
- Ronen Benatar, portfolio investment lead/group director, Wavemaker
Future Media Leader of the Year
- Chris Dunne, head of marketing, Thinkbox
- Lizzie Wiltshire, head of client solutions, Europe, Samsung Ads
- Louise Twycross-Lewis, head of insight, PHD UK
- Rachael Cochrane, regional sales director, DCM
- Sammie Eales, insight manager, Mail Metro Media
Leadership Team of the Year
- DCM
- Mediabridge
- Ozone
- Zenith
Media Agency of the Year
- Spark Foundry
- Starcom
- Wavemaker
- Zenith
Media Owner of the Year
- Bloomberg
- Channel 4
- DCM
- Pearl & Dean
Tech Company of the Year
Advertiser of the Year
- Lloyds Banking Group
- Natwest
- Pepsi
- Unilever
Sustainability Excellence Award
- Good Loop & GroupM
- Havas
- Hearst
- Sky
Talent Excellence Award
- Brixton Finishing School
- DCM
- Zenith
Trust in Media Excellence Award
- GroupM
- Hearst
- PwC & ISBA
- The Trust Project
Judges Special Choice Awards – to be announced at the live event
