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Jen Speirs

Jury Chariperson

Jen is a relative newcomer to the Ireland advertising industry, having started as ECD in Rothco in May 2019.  She is passionate about creating meticulously-crafted, engaging communications; and doing so in a diverse industry. Jen has had the privilege of serving on many national and international juries – including Cannes Film, The Immortals, Australian AWARD, Spikes Asia – and most recently, the Emerging Directors Awards, Ireland.

Erica Roberts

International Juror

Erica has spent nearly two decades bringing creative energy to both her teams and clients. She’s created breakthrough brand stories and experiences across countless categories, from finance to fast food, beer to consumer packaged goods. As Executive Creative Director at Publicis NY,  Erica has successfully led the launch of new brands as well as repositioned and reinvigorated iconic brands for J.M. Smucker, P&G, Nestle and S&P Global. Most recently, Erica was named amongst the Top 100 Creatives for 2019 by AdWeek, and she was listed as one of the Top 26 Agency Leaders to Watch. Before joining Publicis in 2005, she worked at McCann Erickson NY. Erica lives in New York City with her husband and 11-yr-old son, Ethan.

Damian Hanley

Juror

Damian Hanley is a creative director and board director at In Company of Huskies. An art director by trade, a problem solver at heart, he has a passion for tackling challenging marketing problems and providing creative solutions. Damian has won many domestic and international awards for clients such as Nissan Cars, Aviva, O2, Liberty Insurance, Britvic Soft drinks, Allied Irish Banks, Lynx and Lyons Tea to name but a few. 

For the first 10 years of his career, Damian was the lead creative on many of Ireland’s top accounts, before joining Rothco as creative director from 2006 – 2015.  Damian joined In the Company of Huskies in January 2015 where the agency is also experiencing rapid growth through the combination of creative firepower and digital DNA and delivering creative and effectiveness for its clients. 

Over 20 years, Damian Hanley has established himself as a prominent figure in Ireland’s creative community and has been behind some of the most celebrated campaigns. In terms of marketing effectiveness, he is one of Ireland’s highest awarded delivering campaigns that have resulted in three Grand Prixs, plus many Golds and Silvers in ADFX, Ireland’s premier advertising effectiveness awards.

Avril Delaney

Juror

Avril is a Senior Copywriter at Boys + Girls, working across clients such as Three Ireland, Three UK, Samsung, Choose Radio and Smithwick’s. Avril is an award-winning creative whose work has been recognised both locally and internationally. In addition to judging at ICAD 2020, this year she was selected to judge the Radio & Audio category at D&AD. She has mentored for ICAD Upstarts, and has been invited to be a mentor for the D&AD Next Award.

Dillon Elliot

Juror

Creative Director at TBWA\Dublin, Dillon has had work recognised at Cannes, D&AD, Epica (including a Grand Prix for Film PSAs), One Show, ICAD, Kinsale Sharks – both nationally and internationally – and many others.