The first six judges to adjudicate the entries for this year’s Marketer of the Year award have been announced. The six judges are Kevin Kent, Laya; Greta Hammel, Promise Gluten Free; David Field, Fresh; Cliona Hayes, Indeed; Chris Cashen, WPP Media Ireland and Karen Hand, Strategy & Research. The Marketing.ie initiative is partnered by DMG Media Ireland.
David Field (pictured) has held senior marketing and commercial roles at Superquinn and Eason. He worked with Brown Thomas, Glanbia and TV3/Virgin Media Television. He is a former CEO of the Marketing Institute where he worked with council members in reinventing the industry body, with the launch of a series of new initiatives.
Greta Hammel was voted Marketer of the Year in 2024 for her strategies in making Promise Gluten Free a major success in Irish and overseas bakery markets. Kevin Kent is head of marketing at Laya, the healthcare provider which recently became title sponsor of the RDS. Karen Hand is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s top independent strategists.
Cliona Hayes (pictured) has a wealth of marketing experience. At international recruitment group Indeed, she has held roles such as senior board director of global brand and advertising. She worked for Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp (now Bauer Media Audio) radio group for almost eight years and held several roles at Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers.
Chris Cashen is one of the most respected and popular executives in media advertising. He worked at Carat before joining Mindshare, now WPP Media Ireland. He has served on the board of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners (IAPI). This year’s other six MotY judges will be announced shortly. The panel is chaired by AAI chief executive Barry Dooley.
Exceptional
The judges will be looking for Irish marketers who have achieved outstanding brand success through exceptional strategic direction, innovation, creativity and effective communications. Entrants should have a track record of driving growth and possess strong leadership qualities, having managed, upskilled and inspired teams. The judges will also seek out candidates who have helped develop marketing’s reputation as a strategic discipline.
For details on the Marketer of the Year criteria and how to enter the competition click on https://businessplus.ie/media-plus/entries-marketer-of-the-year-2026/. Submissions should be emailed to moty@businessplus.ie or sent by post to Marketer of the Year, DMG Media Ireland, 3rd Floor, 20-38 Haddington Road, Dublin 4, D04 HE94.
The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Thursday, September 24th 2026.
