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

APO Group (www.APO-opa.com), 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 (http://bit.ly/APOaward). 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 :

Fatma Samoura, Secretary-General of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) (www.FIFA.com)

Amadou Gallo Fall, Vice-President of the NBA, and President of the Basketball Africa League (www.NBA.com)

Aïda Diarra, Senior Vice President and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa of Visa (www.Visa.com)

Naomi Campbell, Model, actress, businesswoman (www.instagram.com/naomi)

Aydan Olcer, Regional Communications Director, Middle East and Africa of Microsoft (www.Microsoft.com)

Kezia Anim-Addo, Head of Communications, Sub-Saharan Africa of Facebook (www.Facebook.com)

Zayna Aston, Head of Communications and Public Affairs, EMEA, of YouTube (www.YouTube.com)

Emmanuel Lubanzadio, Head of Public Policy Sub-Saharan Africa of Twitter (www.Twitter.com)

Samantha Fuller, Head of Communication Sub Saharan Africa of Uber (www.Uber.com)

Camilla Osborne, Head of Communications of Coca-Cola Africa (www.Coca-ColaAfrica.com)

Acha Leke, Chairman Africa of McKinsey & Company (www.McKinsey.com)

Ifeoma Dozie, Director, Marketing and Communications, Sub-Saharan Africa of MasterCard (www.MasterCard.com)

Jason Pau, Senior Advisor for International Programs of the Jack Ma Foundation (www.JackMaFoundation.org.cn)

Michael Carney, Regional Marketing Manager of Harley-Davidson Motor Company (www.Harley-Davidson.com)

Urszula Bieganska, Head of Marketing Middle East and Africa of LEGO Group (www.LEGO.com)

Mai Youssef, Corporate Communications and Marketing Services Director, Africa, Middle East and Turkey of Canon (www.Canon.com)

Amadou Diallo, Chief Executive Officer Middle East and Africa of DHL Global Forwarding (www.DHL.com)

Hannah O’Leary, Director, Head of Modern and Contemporary African Art of Sotheby's (www.Sothebys.com)

Julie Gichuru, Head of Public Affairs and Communications of Mastercard Foundation (www.MasterCardFdn.org)

Helen Da Fonseca, Head of Corporate Communications, Public Affairs and CSR of L’Oréal South Africa (www.Loreal.com)

Louise W. Wanjohi, Communications Lead - North, East and West Africa of IBM (www.IBM.com)

Vanessa M. Moungar, Director, Gender, Women and Civil Society of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (www.AfDB.org)

Carole Van Cauter, Global Marketing Manager of Brussels Airlines (www.BrusselsAirlines.com)

Candace Gilowey, Head of Marketing - South Africa and Sub Sahara Africa of Levi Strauss & Co. (www.LeviStrauss.com)

Dudu Ndlovu, Head of Communications of KPMG South Africa (www.KPMG.com)

Sarah Fernandez, Director of Public Relations and Communications - Middle East and Africa of Accor (www.Accor.com)

Dr. Rasha Kelej, Chief Executive Officer of Merck Foundation (www.Merck-Foundation.com)

Byron Kennedy, Executive Head: Group Media Relations and Spokesperson of Vodacom (www.Vodacom.co.za)

Dominic Rumbles, Head of Communications of World Rugby (www.World.Rugby)

Patricia Obozuwa, Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer of GE Africa (www.GE.com)

Samantha Muna, Director Development East Africa of Hilton Worldwide (www.Hilton.com)

John Gely, Head of Africa of MoneyGram International (www.Moneygram.com)

Beatrice Gachenge, Head of Communications, Sub-Saharan Africa of Novartis (www.Novartis.com)

Lee Martin, Senior Advisor of Getty Images (www.GettyImages.com)

Stephanie Aboujaoude, Senior Area Director, Marketing and Communications, Middle East and Africa of Radisson Hotel Group (www.RadissonHotelGroup.com)

Sthe Shabangu, Public Relations and Communications lead for Africa of Cisco (www.Cisco.com)

Rukmini Glanard, Executive Vice President Global Sales, Services and Marketing of Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (www.AL-Enterprise.com)

Maor Aharoni, Africa and Israel Communications of Motorola Solutions (www.MotorolaSolutions.com)

Anthony Chiejina, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Dangote Group (www.Dangote.com)

Jacqui O'Sullivan, Executive: Corporate Affairs of MTN South Africa (www.MTN.co.za)

Sonia Adnane, Head of Communications and Public Affairs Africa of Siemens Gamesa (www.SiemensGamesa.com)

Marwa Gomaa, Africa Communications Director of Tetra Pak (www.TetraPak.com)

Abdellah Ghali, Head of Communications of OCP Africa (www.OCPafrica.com)

Christa Botha, Communications Director, Africa and Middle East of Sage (www.Sage.com)

Adenike Laoye, Group Head, Corporate Communications, and Chief of Staff to the Group CEO of Ecobank (www.Ecobank.com)

Abdou Diop, Managing Partner of Mazars Audit and Consulting (www.Mazars.com)

Andre Martin, Head of Communications and External Relations, Middle East and Africa of DP World (www.DPworld.com)

Angela Russell, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa (www.AmCham.co.za)

Ben White, Founder and CEO of VC4A (www.VC4A.com)

Bola Atta, Group Head, Corporate Communications of United Bank for Africa (www.UBAgroup.com)

Michael Okwiri, Vice President, Corporate Communications and CSR of Airtel Africa (www.Airtel.Africa)

Christian Bwakira, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa of Ingenico Group (www.Ingenico.com)

Clare Spurrell, Head of Global Communications of CARE International (www.CARE-international.org)

Claudia Brunner, Media Relations Specialist of Rotary International (www.Rotary.org)

Coralie van den Berg, General Manager of Rugby Africa (www.RugbyAfrique.com)

Sue Musunga Chuzu, Marketing and Communications Manager, Africa and Middle East of CNH Industrial (www.CNHIndustrial.com)

Didier Acouetey, President and Founder of AfricSearch Group (www.AfricSearch.com)

Eddie Mandhry, Director for Africa and Middle East of Yale University (www.Yale.edu)

Christina D'Souza, Head Brand and Communications Middle East & Africa at Sodexo (www.Sodexo.com)

Filipe de Botton, President of the Portuguese Diaspora Council (www.DiasporaPortuguesa.org)

Florizelle Liser, President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa (www.CorporateCouncilonAfrica.com)

Ginikanwa Frank-Durugbor, Head, Corporate Communications of Lafarge Africa (www.Lafarge.com.ng)

Leslie Richer, Director of Information and Communication of the African Union (www.AU.int)

Giovanni "Gianni" Merlo, President of the International Sports Press Association, AIPS (www.AIPSmedia.com)

Itumeleng Matlaila, Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs - Africa of Puma Energy (www.PumaEnergy.com)

Jean Pascal Mvondo, Francophone Africa government and corporate advisory lead of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (www.UNCDF.org)

Karen Taylor, CEO of Invest Africa (www.InvestAfrica.com)

Mathilde Schneider, Head of Group Communications of AFD - Agence Française de Développement (www.AFD.fr)

Kate Johns, Head: Africa and International Media Relations of Standard Bank (www.StandardBank.com)

Kelly Arnold, Managing Director, Sub-Sahara Africa, Retail Intelligence of Nielsen (www.Nielsen.com)

Sanaa Sayagh, General Manager of Roche Morocco (www.Roche.com)

Leland Rice, CEO of Dedalus Global (www.DedalusGlobal.com)

Lesiba Sethoga, Head of Marketing and Communications – South Africa of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) (www.AGCS.Allianz.com)

Lilian Kanyi Mwangi, Marketing and Communications Manager - East, Central and Southern Africa of DHL Africa (www.DHL.com)

Linda Brown, Head of Communications and Advocacy Services, Africa of BASF (www.BASF.com)

Louise Kanyonga, Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer of Rwanda Development Board (www.RDB.rw)

Alexander Amosu, Founder of Lux Afrique (www.LuxAfrique.com)

Maximilian Jarrett, Africa Programme Manager of the International Energy Agency (www.IEA.org)

Mohamed Rahman Swaray, Minister of Information and Communications of Sierra Leone (www.MIC.gov.sl)

Monica Zanette, Migration Mobility Dialogue Senior Coordinator of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (www.ICMPD.org)

Mwanja Ng'anjo, Ag. Head of Communications of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) (www.NEPAD.org)

Nafissatou Dia, Communication and CSR Director of CFAO (www.CFAOgroup.com)

NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org)

Olivier Laouchez, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of TRACE (www.TRACE.tv)

Olly Cann, Director of Communications of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (www.Gavi.org)

Oyinade Adegite, Group Head, Corporate Communication of Guaranty Trust Bank (www.GTBank.com)

Paulo Gomes, Co-Founder of New African Capital Partners, former Executive Director of The World Bank (www.NewAfricanCapital.com)

Pierre Havenga, Managing Director MEA of Vertiv Co (www.Vertiv.com)

Robins Tchale Watchou, CEO of Vivendi Sports (www.VivendiSports.com)

Rose Thuo, Head of Communications and Marketing, Africa of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (www.WorldWildlife.org)

Sarah Utermark, Director of Commercial Partnerships of Opera (www.Opera.com)

Sherry Kennedy, Senior Communications Officer of the African Trade Insurance Agency (www.ATI-aca.org)

Tolu Ogunlesi, Special assistant on Digital and New Media to Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari (www.StateHouse.gov.ng)

Tshepang Motsekuoa, Communications Manager - Africa of AGCO Corporation (www.AGCOcorp.com)

Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) (www.africAFC.org)

Stéphane Rogovsky, Founder and CEO of R-Squared Agency (www.R-Squared.Agency)

Tiekie Barnard, CEO and Founder of the Shared Value Africa Initiative (www.SVAI.africa)

Victor Oladokun, former Director of Communication and External Relations of the African Development Bank Group

Walid Loukil, Deputy General Manager of Loukil Group (www.Loukil.com.tn)

Yoven Moorooven, CEO of ENGIE Africa (www.ENGIE-africa.com)

Zemedeneh Negatu, Global Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund (www.FairfaxAfrica.com)

Nila Yasmin, Winner of the 2020 APO Group African Women in Media Award (www.bit.ly/NilaYasmin)

Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, Founder and chairman of APO Group (www.Pompigne-Mognard.com)    

Download the list in Word format: http://bit.ly/APOjudges

"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 (www.Pompigne-Mognard.com), 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) (www.AWIEForum.org) 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. 

For more information go to: http://bit.ly/APOaward

B-Roll of last year award ceremony for Media Download: http://bit.ly/AWIEFBROLL

More information on the AWIEF & APO Group Partnership: http://bit.ly/36mzJDB

Follow @APO_Source and #APOMediaAward on Twitter. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of APO Group.

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Media Contact: 

marie@apo-opa.org

About APO Group:

Founded in 2007, APO Group (www.APO-opa.com) is the leading pan-African communications and business consultancy. We assist private and public organizations in sharpening their reputation and increasing their brand equity in target countries across Africa. Our role as a trusted partner is to leverage the power of media and build bespoke strategies that enable organizations to produce a real, measurable impact in Africa and beyond. The trust and recognition granted to APO Group by global and multinational companies, governments, and NGOs inspires us to continuously enhance our value proposition within Africa to better cater to our clients’ needs. Among our prestigious clients: Facebook, Dangote Group, Nestlé, GE, Uber, Microsoft, Nokia, NBA, Canon, PwC, DHL, Marriott Group, Ecobank, Philips, Siemens, Standard Chartered, HP, Hilton, Ernst & Young, Orange.

Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland | Offices in Senegal, Dubai and Hong Kong.

For further information, please visit our website: www.APO-opa.com.

About AWIEF: 

AWIEF (www.AWIEForum.org) is a pan-African women’s economic empowerment organization that promotes and supports female innovation, technology and entrepreneurship across Africa through a portfolio of high impact programmes. AWIEF’s mission is to foster the economic inclusion, advancement and empowerment of women in Africa through entrepreneurship support and development. AWIEF’s programmes and activities include accelerators, capacity-building and training, networking and mentorship, AWIEF Awards, AWIEF Digital Hub, and building the AWIEF community of African women entrepreneurs. The year-round activities culminate in convening and hosting the popular and widely attended annual international and multi-stakeholder AWIEF conference, exhibition and awards event, currently in its fifth edition.

Website: www.AWIEForum.org.