Seventeen UAE industry professionals join the UAE Cannes Lions Awarding Jury 2026 — including the region’s first PR Lions Jury President.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has unveiled its Awarding Jury line-up for the 73rd edition of the Festival, taking place 22–26 June 2026 in Cannes, France.
Among the distinguished jury members announced, the United Arab Emirates will be represented by seventeen accomplished industry professionals on the UAE Cannes Lions Awarding Jury 2026 — including one Jury President — who will collaborate with experts from across the globe to recognise and honour outstanding creative work at this year’s Festival.
Commenting on this year’s line-up, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said: “The impact of the Cannes Lions Jury can’t be underestimated. Their time and expertise in recognising groundbreaking work sets the global creative benchmark for the year ahead and provides a view of the future shape of creativity. Each year, our Juries are carefully selected to uphold this standard, and this year is no exception. Welcoming new expert voices across a breadth of markets and disciplines, we are delighted to bring together some of the industry’s most well-respected leaders to define the creative standards driving our industry forward and celebrate the transformative power of creativity to create change, shape society, and build business.”
Regarding the record UAE representation, Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group and CEO of Motivate Val Morgan, said: “The UAE’s creative community continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and ambition. Seventeen jury members on the global stage — with Dana Tahir leading as Jury President for the PR Lions — is a reflection of an industry that never stands still, and a region that remains deeply committed to the world conversation on creativity.“
This year’s line-up also sees Islam Eldessouky, Global VP Creative at The Coca-Cola Company, join the inaugural Creative Brand Lions Jury — a newly introduced category recognising brands that build the systems, cultures, and capabilities that make world-class creative marketing inevitable and repeatable.
The 2026 Awarding Jurors from the UAE have been named as:
Audio & Radio
Gautam Wadher | Chief Creative Officer, Memac Ogilvy, UAE
Creative Brand
Islam ElDessouky | Global VP Creative, The Coca-Cola Company, Global
Creative Business Transformation
Tarek Miknas | CEO, FP7McCann, MENAT
Creative Data
Mary Anne He | Head of Data & Insights, Havas Media, Middle East
Creative Effectiveness
Aakriti Goel | Head of Strategy, Leo, UAE
Creative Strategy
Alejandro Fischer | Chief Strategy Officer, Havas, Middle East
Digital Craft
Youssef Gadallah | Head of Creative Studio, TikTok – Bytedance, METAP
Entertainment Lions for Music
Ahmed Younis (Fizo) | Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe, Middle East
Film
Ash Chagla | Chief Creative Officer, Science & Sunshine, UAE
Film Craft
Eddy Rizk | CEO, BIG KAHUNA FILMS, UAE
Glass: The Lion for Change
Rana Sadek | Senior Creative Director, IMPACT BBDO Dubai, UAE
Industry Craft
Derek Green | Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\RAAD, MENA
Media
Azhar Siddiqui | CEO, Mediaplus Middle East, MENA
Outdoor
Habiba Allam | Creative Director, Careem, Global
PR (Jury President)
Dana Tahir | CEO, HAVAS Red, Middle East and Egypt
Print & Publishing
Jason Murison | Creative Lead, DAMAC Properties, Global
Social & Creator
Asia Ali | Founder and Managing Director, MKV Digital, UAE
Further information on the 2026 Festival and the Lions Awards can be found at www.canneslions.com.
Watch this space for the Shortlisting Jury announcement, coming soon.
Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE.
Source: Cannes Lions Press Release