Executives from FIFA, NBA, World Rugby, Vivendi Sports and Rugby Africa among the largest and most influential panel of judges ever assembled for a journalism prize in Africa

The judging panel for the APO Group African Woman in Media Award consists of 100 luminaries, with global icons such as Naomi Campbell joined by executives at diverse organizations like Microsoft, Harley-Davidson and FIFA

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, November 3, 2020/ — APO Group, the leading pan-African communications and business consultancy, is delighted to announce the jury for the prestigious APO Group African Women in Media Award 2020. The Award recognizes, celebrates and empowers African women in the media who support female entrepreneurship throughout the continent.

This is the largest and most influential panel of judges ever assembled for an African media award, and it reflects the importance of recognizing gender equality in business and the media.

APO Group has brought together 100 luminaries, with global icons such as Naomi Campbell joined by senior executives from every major industry on the continent, from Microsoft to Dangote; Twitter to Coca-Cola; and Harley-Davidson to LEGO!

Here is a full list of the 100 judges :

1. Fatma Samoura, Secretary-General of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
2. Aïda Diarra, Senior Vice President and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa of Visa
3. Naomi Campbell, Model, actress, businesswoman
4. Aydan Olcer, Regional Communications Director, Middle East and Africa of Microsoft
5. Kezia Anim-Addo, Head of Communications, Sub-Saharan Africa of Facebook
6. Zayna Aston, Head of Communications and Public Affairs, EMEA, of YouTube
7. Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Head of Public Policy Sub-Saharan Africa of Twitter
8. Samantha Fuller, Head of Communication Sub Saharan Africa of Uber
9. Camilla Osborne, Head of Communications of Coca-Cola Africa
10. Acha Leke, Chairman Africa of McKinsey & Company
11. Ifeoma Dozie, Director, Marketing and Communications, Sub-Saharan Africa of MasterCard
12. Jason Pau, Senior Advisor for International Programs of the Jack Ma Foundation
13. Michael Carney, Regional Marketing Manager of Harley-Davidson Motor Company
14. Urszula Bieganska, Head of Marketing Middle East and Africa of LEGO Group
15. Mai Youssef, Corporate Communications and Marketing Services Director, Africa, Middle East and Turkey of Canon
16. Amadou Gallo Fall, Vice-President of the NBA, and President of the Basketball Africa League
17. Amadou Diallo, Chief Executive Officer Middle East and Africa of DHL Global Forwarding
18. Hannah O’Leary, Director, Head of Modern and Contemporary African Art of Sotheby’s
19. Julie Gichuru, Head of Public Affairs and Communications of Mastercard Foundation
20. Helen Da Fonseca, Head of Corporate Communications, Public Affairs and CSR of L’Oréal South Africa
21. Louise W. Wanjohi, Communications Lead – North, East and West Africa of IBM
22. Vanessa M. Moungar, Director, Gender, Women and Civil Society of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB)
23. Carole Van Cauter, Global Marketing Manager of Brussels Airlines
24. Candace Gilowey, Head of Marketing – South Africa and Sub Sahara Africa of Levi Strauss & Co.
25. Dudu Ndlovu, Head of Communications of KPMG South Africa
26. Sarah Fernandez, Director of Public Relations and Communications – Middle East and Africa of Accor
27. Dr. Rasha Kelej, Chief Executive Officer of Merck Foundation
28. Byron Kennedy, Executive Head: Group Media Relations and Spokesperson of Vodacom
29. Dominic Rumbles, Head of Communications of World Rugby
30. Patricia Obozuwa, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer of GE Africa
31. Samantha Muna, Director Development East Africa of Hilton Worldwide
32. John Gely, Head of Africa of MoneyGram International
33. Beatrice Gachenge, Head of Communications, Sub-Saharan Africa of Novartis
34. Lee Martin, Senior Advisor of Getty Images
35. Stephanie Aboujaoude, Senior Area Director, Marketing and Communications, Middle East and Africa of Radisson Hotel Group
36. Sthe Shabangu, Public Relations and Communications lead for Africa of Cisco
37. Rukmini Glanard, Executive Vice President Global Sales, Services and Marketing of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
38. Maor Aharoni, Africa and Israel Communications of Motorola Solutions
39. Anthony Chiejina, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Dangote Group
40. Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive: Corporate Affairs of MTN South Africa
41. Sonia Adnane, Head of Communications and Public Affairs Africa of Siemens Gamesa
42. Marwa Gomaa, Africa Communications Director of Tetra Pak
43. Abdellah Ghali, Head of Communications of OCP Africa
44. Christa Botha, Communications Director, Africa and Middle East of Sage
45. Adenike Laoye, Group Head, Corporate Communications, and Chief of Staff to the Group CEO of Ecobank
46. Abdou Diop, Managing Partner of Mazars Audit and Consulting
47. Andre Martin, Head of Communications and External Relations, Middle East and Africa of DP World
48. Angela Russell, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa
49. Ben White, Founder and CEO of VC4A
50. Bola Atta, Group Head, Corporate Communications of United Bank for Africa
51. Michael Okwiri, Vice President, Corporate Communications and CSR of Airtel Africa
52. Christian Bwakira, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa of Ingenico Group
53. Clare Spurrell, Head of Global Communications of CARE International
54. Claudia Brunner, Media Relations Specialist of Rotary International
55. Coralie van den Berg, General Manager of Rugby Africa
56. Sue Musunga Chuzu, Marketing and Communications Manager, Africa and Middle East of CNH Industrial
57. Didier Acouetey, President and Founder of AfricSearch Group
58. Eddie Mandhry, Director for Africa and Middle East of Yale University
59. Christina D’Souza, Head Brand and Communications Middle East & Africa at Sodexo
60. Filipe de Botton, President of the Portuguese Diaspora Council
61. Florizelle Liser, President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa
62. Ginikanwa Frank-Durugbor, Head, Corporate Communications of Lafarge Africa
63. Leslie Richer, Director of Information and Communication of the African Union
64. Giovanni “Gianni” Merlo, President of the International Sports Press Association, AIPS
65. Itumeleng Matlaila, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs – Africa of Puma Energy
66. Jean Pascal Mvondo, Francophone Africa government and corporate advisory lead of the United Nations Capital Development Fund
67. Karen Taylor, CEO of Invest Africa
68. Mathilde Schneider, Head of Group Communications of AFD – Agence Française de Développement
69. Kate Johns, Head: Africa and International Media Relations of Standard Bank
70. Kelly Arnold, Managing Director, Sub-Sahara Africa, Retail Intelligence of Nielsen
71. Sanaa Sayagh, General Manager of Roche Morocco
72. Leland Rice, CEO of Dedalus Global
73. Lesiba Sethoga, Head of Marketing and Communications – South Africa of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS)
74. Lilian Kanyi Mwangi, Marketing and Communications Manager – East, Central and Southern Africa of DHL Africa
75. Linda Brown, Head of Communications and Advocacy Services, Africa of BASF
76. Louise Kanyonga, Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer of Rwanda Development Board
77. Alexander Amosu, Founder of Lux Afrique
78. Maximilian Jarrett, Africa Programme Manager of the International Energy Agency
79. Mohamed Rahman Swaray, Minister of Information and Communications of Sierra Leone
80. Monica Zanette, Migration Mobility Dialogue Senior Coordinator of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development
81. Mwanja Ng’anjo, Ag. Head of Communications of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD)
82. Nafissatou Dia, Communication and CSR Director of CFAO
83. NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber
84. Olivier Laouchez, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of TRACE
85. Olly Cann, Director of Communications of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
86. Oyinade Adegite, Group Head, Corporate Communication of Guaranty Trust Bank
87. Paulo Gomes, Co-Founder of New African Capital Partners, former Executive Director of The World Bank
88. Pierre Havenga, Managing Director MEA of Vertiv Co
89. Robins Tchale Watchou, CEO of Vivendi Sports
90. Rose Thuo, Head of Communications and Marketing, Africa of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
91. Sarah Utermark, Director of Commercial Partnerships of Opera
92. Sherry Kennedy, Senior Communications Officer of the African Trade Insurance Agency
93. Tolu Ogunlesi, Special assistant on Digital and New Media to Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari
94. Tshepang Motsekuoa, Communications Manager – Africa of AGCO Corporation
95. Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC)
96. Stéphane Rogovsky, Founder and CEO of R-Squared Agency
97. Tiekie Barnard, CEO and Founder of the Shared Value Africa Initiative
98. Victor Oladokun, former Director of Communication and External Relations of the African Development Bank Group
99. Walid Loukil, Deputy General Manager of Loukil Group
100. Yoven Moorooven, CEO of ENGIE Africa
101. Zemedeneh Negatu, Global Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund
102. Nila Yasmin, Winner of the 2020 APO Group African Women in Media Award
103. Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and chairman of APO Group

“I want to thank all the judges for devoting their time and energy to the APO Group African Women in Media Award,” said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and Chairman of APO Group. “I’ve never seen a judging panel of this quality before, and we are honored that every member shares our vision for women empowerment and entrepreneurship. Their passion and enthusiasm has helped make this award the biggest of its kind in Africa.”

The APO Group African Women in Media Award is part of APO Group’s commitment to supporting the development of journalism on the continent. 

The award is open to African female journalists whose stories were broadcast or published between 1st January and 31st October 2020. The stories are judged on content, writing, analysis, creativity, human interest and community impact.

The judges will be asked to select the winning journalist, who will then be announced at the 6th Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum’s (AWIEF) Virtual Conference and Awards, hosted from 2-3 December 2020, with the theme ‘Reimagining Business & Rebuilding Better.’  

AWIEF is a prestigious annual event that sees global thought leaders, industry experts, policymakers, academics, development organizations and investors gather to connect, network, share, collaborate and transact in a combined effort to boost Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem for women. 

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