The One Club for Creativity announced the initial 39 creatives from 21 countries who have been selected to serve on the jury for Next Creative Leaders 2025, the industry’s only free global competition recognizing women and non-binary creatives on the rise.
Celebrating its 10th year, Next Creative Leaders was created in partnership with The 3% Movement as a free portfolio competition that identifies, celebrates, and provides a global platform to talented women, non-binary, and trans creatives who are making their mark on the world with both their work and unique point of view on creative leadership that’s changing the industry for the better.
Here’s the initial list of NCL 2025 judges, by region:
APAC
Sitta Chandarawong, creative group head, art director, SOUR Bangkok
Michelle Co, creative director, Forsman & Bodenfors, Singapore
Stacey Karayannis, creative director, Leo Australia, Melbourne
Kiah Nicholas, senior creative, Wieden+Kennedy, Sydney
Titipun Tubthong, head of creative, Brilliant & Million, Bangkok
Tung Wang, ACD, Ogilvy Taiwan, Taipei
Europe
Emese Gillotte, Head of Art, DDB Budapest
Claudia Illan, senior copywriter, LOLA MullenLowe Madrid
Manisha Joshi, business director, head of DEI, Ketchum, Vienna
Josefina Mateo Burton, senior copywriter, LOLA MullenLowe Madrid
Chaeyeong Seo, Creative Art director, Wieden+Kennedy London
Dörte Spengler-Ahrens, non-executive creative chairwoman, Jung von Matt Hamburg
Dorottya Tóth, creative director, DDB Budapest
Latin America
Dandara Almeida, creative director, independent, São Paulo
Arah Kim, creative director, Wieden+Kennedy, Mexico City
Florencia Loda, ECD, draftLine, Buenos Aires
Julia Machado, ACD, GUT São Paulo
Catharina Mendonca, senior copywriter, AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
Alejandra Rozo Ruda, art director, DAVID Bogotá
Jacky Salome, creative director, Netflix, Mexico City
Middle East & Africa
Nnenna Onyewuchi, founder, The Barefoot Strategist, Lagos
Sands Mathura, ACD, Accenture Song South Africa, Cape Town
Enas Rashwan. founder, CEO, Cairo Ad School and Saudi Ad School; president, The One Club-Cairo chapter, Cairo/Riyadh
Nayaab Rais, ECD, FP7 McCann, Dubai
Ali Rez, CCO, IMPACT BBDO, Dubai
Rana Sadek, creative director, FP7 McCann, Dubai
North America
Sollin Apelthun Sæle, senior art director, Wieden+Kennedy New York
Dotun Bello, ACD, Translation Los Angeles
Abigail Chieppa, creative director, EnergyBBDO Chicago
Vanessa de Beaumont, associate creative director, Mischief @ No Fixed Address, Brooklyn
Sally Fung, ACD, FCB Toronto
Daniela Herrera, talent and DEI consultant, Kay & Partners Talent Management, dei by dani, Allies in Recruiting, New York
Daniela Marino, VP, creative director, Edelman New York
Sara Muchnick, senior copywriter, Wieden+Kennedy New York
Jacquelyn Parent, creative director, Rethink, Toronto
Jasmine Paylor, senior art director, Mischief @ No Fixed Address, New York
Cassandra Shuber, creative director, Edelman New York
Lisa Vanterpool, director of brand content, Fiverr New York
Alexandria Williams, creative strategy director, TikTok New York
Eligible participants are those who are stepping into leadership roles, including copywriters, art directors, designers, ACDs, content creators, and recently promoted creative and design directors with less than one year in the role, and creative teams who are doing game-changing work.
Entries highlighting a candidate’s creativity, leadership, and unique point of view must be submitted by the June 16, 2025 deadline.
To make Next Creative Leaders as open and accessible as possible, there is no fee to enter.
Entrants are judged on four-to-six pieces of creative work and information about how they–and their work–are pushing the industry forward and making a positive contribution in terms of diversity, mentoring, and advocacy.
Along with naming global winners in August based upon the highest jury scores, the competition also recognizes regional winners in APAC, Europe, Latin America, Middle East/Africa, and North America.
Each NCL winner receives a one-year complimentary individual membership with The One Club, with opportunities to serve on juries for one of The One Club’s awards programs, and a complimentary ticket to a One Club professional development conference ($1,000+ value), panels, and mentorship events.
Winners also have their work showcased on The One Club website and social channels, covered by media partners, and have potential opportunities to speak at NCL events.
Branding for Next Creative Leaders 2025 was designed by Du Nieto (he/they), an NCL 2021 winner who serves as lead designer at Revolut, and independent creative at dadada.work. Originally from Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil, Du Nieto is now based in London.
Font for the branding–Romie Light Italic–-was donated by Margot Lévêque Studio, based in New York.
Please visit the Next Creative Leaders 2025 website for more information and to enter.
