Anupriya Acharya and Dennis Perez appointed as Heads of Jury for the 10th edition of the APAC Effie Awards

Anupriya Acharya is South Asia CEO of Publicis Groupe, and Dennis Perez is digital marketing, media and commerce lead of Unilever.

Effie Asia Pacific is excited to announce Anupriya Acharya, South Asia CEO of Publicis Groupe, and Dennis Perez, Digital Marketing, Media and Commerce Lead of Unilever as the first two Heads of Jury for the APAC Effie Awards 2023. Both familiar faces at the judging table, they will continue to ensure that only the best in the region will be recognised for their efforts.

Anupriya is an eminent marketing and advertising professional with 28 years of experience under her belt. Anupriya joined Publicis Groupe in 2013, and previously held senior leadership positions with WPP in India and Aegis Media Singapore. She has served as a jury member on several key media industry awards in the region, including the APAC Effie Awards where she was a Head of Jury in 2020.

She is also actively involved in the industry and until recently was the President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India for the terms 2020-2022. She is also on the Board of other industry bodies like BARC, ASCI, and MMA, apart from being an Independent Director on the Board of DB Corp, the largest newspaper group in India.

On her appointment, Anupriya commented, “It’s a great honour to be a Head of Jury for the APAC Effie Awards 2023. The APAC Effies is the gold standard for brand ideas that can withstand the test of the market and bring in true business results. Advertising is undergoing a massive shift; brands are reinventing how they engage with consumers – be it in their authenticity or the way they use technology. The APAC region has some of the best use cases of this change and I look forward to seeing some of this exciting work.”

Dennis is the Digital Marketing, Media and Commerce Lead for Unilever Beauty and Wellbeing Southeast Asia, where he heads the creation and execution of integrated digital and media strategies in the region.

He is also steering the digital transformation agenda in Unilever by developing next generation marketing and commerce practices in the beauty category through data driven marketing, content partnerships, influencer marketing, beauty technology, and advanced analytics.

Dennis is also the Country Media Head of Unilever Philippines. Whilst enjoying media and marketing as a profession, Dennis is also a licensed Chemical Engineer. Thus, he believes in building brands with magic and logic, math and meaning.

On his appointment, Dennis said, “As marketing goes into a continuous state of flux, maximising effectiveness means anchoring unmissable creativity to a good and solid strategy. The APAC Effies is a good reminder that creativity starts way before the craft begins. I’m excited to head this year’s jury in celebrating work that embraced bolder bets from the beginning of strategy creation to deliver amazing results at the end. Together with the jury, I’m looking forward to pushing the edges of what creativity means for the industry - with strategy and effectiveness pinning the spectrum of marketing and brand communication.”