Finalists in random order
Orla is a recognised results oriented C-Suite business leader with extensive global CPG strategy, marketing and business management experience. Her career spans local, regional and global roles and is marked by a track record of sustainable business growth through iconic brands.
Core competencies include business strategy and turnaround, award winning effective creative, sustainable value creation and pushing the boundaries on the science and art of business thinking. Driven by Leadership values of authenticity, mutuality and purpose, she measures her success by the long term impact her tenure has on people, through their development, brands through their meaning and business through sustainable growth and value creation.
Cesar Romera is a marketing leader who thrives at the intersection of technology, strategy, and business growth. With deep expertise in enterprise technology services—from cloud and infrastructure to data and AI—he knows how to turn complex solutions into clear, compelling value propositions.
What sets him apart is his ability to connect technical depth with strategic positioning. He builds strong B2B brands that resonate with enterprise clients while driving measurable commercial impact. At the same time, he invests in people and culture, fostering teams that perform at a high level. Strategic, commercially sharp, and people-focused, Cesar represents modern marketing leadership at its best.
Vaida Jurkonienė has demonstrated that a modern Chief Marketing Officer not only drives business results and builds strong brands, but also acts as an architect of organizational
change. The transformations she implemented extended well beyond the boundaries of marketing: the customer experience transformation she led, the overhaul of integrated
communications, and the introduction of advanced data analytics positioned marketing at the core of Telia’s operations.
Sérgio Leal is Marketing and Communications Director at McDonald’s Portugal since 2018, leading business, brand and digital strategies, as well as corporate communications, for one of the world’s most iconic brands. His consistent work and contribution has supported the brand’s modernization and continued relevance and strong success with Portuguese consumers. At McD he won the Presidents’s Award that recognizes the 1% most talented employees worldwide and, according to Scopen, is one of the most admired CMO’s in Portugal, a key contributor for McD Portugal to stand out both within McD global system as well as the Portuguese industry.
Marco Greco led the strategic transformation since January 2019, repositioning OCHSNER SPORT from a largely interchangeable sports supermarket into a clearly differentiated omnichannel sports specialist. He delivered a record revenue and record results in 2025, achieving clear top of mind awareness and the number one brand image scores in Swiss sports retail.
In early 2017, he joined The Coca-Cola Company, initially serving as Media & Connections Manager for the Hungarian, Czech, and Slovak markets. From May 2024, he has been shaping Coca-Cola’s European digital strategy as Digital Acceleration Senior Director, a position he currently holds.
Beyond his corporate roles, Ádám plays an active leadership role in the marketing industry. In 2024, he was re-elected a board member of The Hungarian Marketing Association, Vice President of the Hungarian Advertising Association (MRSZ) and also serves as a board member of IAB Hungary. He has been ranked among the Top 5 most influential marketing decision-makers for five consecutive years and was awarded the Marketer of the Year title in 2025.
As Chief Marketing, Digital & Insights Officer of McDonald’s Netherlands, Stijn Mentrop-Huliselan has played a defining role in further professionalising marketing as a strategic business discipline, both within the organisation and beyond. Marketing is positioned at the heart of the business: Stijn is part of the Core Leadership Team alongside the Managing Director and CFO, and is seen by franchisees first and foremost as a driver of business growth. Under his leadership, McDonald’s Netherlands has evolved into a distinctly marketing-driven organisation, with long-term brand platforms, fewer-but-bolder campaigns, and a strong integration of brand, data, digital and culture. His leadership philosophy is rooted in role modelling and empowerment, building teams that are trusted with autonomy, cultural relevance and responsibility — particularly visible in the brand’s progressive social, digital and Gen Z strategies.
At Tele2, Carolina's focus has been to strengthen marketing as a long-term growth driver by connecting brand strategy, creativity, media, and data to created a common language for marketing across the organisation and make it easier to prioritise and understand.
By applying the same strategic framework across both B2C and B2B, while adapting execution to different customer needs, Tele2 has achieved strong and measurable brand development over time.
A key part of Carolina's leadership is making marketing understandable - not only for marketers, but also for management teams and commercial functions. Through clarity, collaboration, and transparency, marketing has become a more trusted and valued partner in business decisions.
Werner Lampert began his work in organic agriculture and sustainable brand development more than 40 years ago, at a time when organic food represented only a marginal share of the retail market. Since then, he has become one of the most influential pioneers in establishing organic products within mainstream retail and redefining sustainability as a strategic marketing discipline.Werner has significantly influenced the marketing community by demonstrating how ecological responsibility, economic success, and brand leadership can be structurally aligned. His work serves as a practical model for transforming sustainability from a communication narrative into an integrated, measurable business system.