#creativeleaders

every industry eventually reaches a point where the old map stops working. someone has to draw a new one.

meet the next set of speakers taking the stage at MAD STARS 2026 — a lineup that spans Japan, Portugal, Russia, and Korea, and just as many different crafts: ad production, spatial design, ad tech infrastructure, and visual storytelling. leaders who didn't wait for someone else to redraw the boundaries.

Shinichi Kobayashi executive creative director & creative innovation officer, adk marketing solutions inc. he's rewiring how a legacy network thinks about digital. from building Dentsu Digital's creative department from scratch to leading a 120-person org at ADK, Shinichi has run major campaigns across beverage, transportation, beauty, and tech — racking up 70+ awards, including a Cannes Lions Gold and a Spikes Asia Grand Prix, along the way.

Ilya Andreyev executive creative director, cheil cis he helped pioneer digital advertising across an entire industry — then proved it twice, at two different agencies. Ilya helped Russia's independent creative scene go digital in the late 2000s, won his agency's first-ever Cannes Lion at Proximity (BBDO), then took Cheil to a #1 Digital Agency of the Year ranking.

Paulo Mariano senior art director, o escritório his storytelling has traveled from lisbon to a global "best digital artists" list. working out of an independent agency, Paulo's visual campaigns for brands like Netflix and Emirates landed him on the 2025 list of the 200 Best Digital Artists Worldwide.

Kurando Furuya chief executive officer, toyoke inc. he walked away from directing commercials to build an entirely new kind of business. Kurando spent years directing spatial exhibitions and brand films before founding a wellness company from the ground up — carrying an ad-maker's eye for experience design into a whole new industry.

Ichiro Jinnai president, perion japan he's spent his career building the infrastructure other campaigns run on. Ichiro helped launch Japan's first impression-based DOOH network before taking on the work of modernizing legacy ad tech into fully automated systems.

Jaeho Oh founder & chief executive officer, pyler he was doing AI research before he could legally vote. founded in 2021, Jaeho's PYLER has raised over $24M in funding building AiD — video-understanding AI that automates the appropriateness checks agencies used to do by hand — for clients like Samsung, BYD, and Bulgari. a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree.

Yugyeom Lee creative director, dxe he builds the connective tissue between what a brand says and what people actually do. Yugyeom's campaigns link brand storytelling to consumer behavior and emerging technology, translating big strategy into work people actually notice.

a film director who became a wellness founder. an agency vet who's rewired two networks' digital game. a teenager who became an AI CEO. different countries, different crafts, one shared instinct — when the map runs out, you build your own.

creativity used to be the one thing technology couldn't touch. now AI is in the room — and the real question isn't who wins, it's what happens when the two actually work together.

meet the next 9 speakers taking the stage at MAD STARS 2026, including our first confirmed keynote. some are building the tools. others are defending the instinct no tool can replace. together, they're where the real conversation about creativity's next chapter happens.

⭐ Tara McKenty (keynote speaker) chief creative officer, AKQA Australia & New Zealand she's the rare leader with both silicon valley's tech instincts and a creative director's heart — and this year, she's judging MAD STARS 2026 as part of the Executive Jury. across TBWA, Saatchi & Saatchi, BMF, and a decade at Google APAC, she's lived exactly at the crossroads of technology, craft, and creative excellence. she founded Rare with Google, opening real doors for underrepresented creatives. 200+ awards and counting.

Justine Leong managing director, AKQA she's spent her career turning regional players into global brands. Justine took Qatar Airways from a regional carrier to a global brand and helped launch the BBC's commercial channels across Asia. now she leads a 150-person AKQA studio in Australia.

Fabio Seidl senior vice president, creative ai, digitas north america he left big tech to build the infrastructure for AI-powered creativity. seven years leading innovation at Meta and X — including Reels' global rollout and $220M+ in platform-driven revenue — now he's running Creative AI at Digitas. 20+ Cannes Lions later, this is his return to the MAD STARS stage.

Sandipan Bhattacharyya chief creative officer, monks he's collected 120+ awards proving data can still make you feel something real. Sandipan led GREY to India's first-ever Entertainment Lion and D&AD Yellow Pencil, with Gillette campaigns that have racked up 110M+ views worldwide — and this year, he's bringing that eye to MAD STARS 2026 as part of the Executive Jury.

Kinami Hasegawa executive creative director, dentsu inc. she was representing her country at global creative competitions before she'd even hit her mid-20s. now she's building work for UNIQLO, Shiseido, and Lexus, with a Cannes Lions Gold in 2025 for her collaboration with HERALBONY.

Titipun Tubthong head of creative, brilliant & million he trained an entire agency to think in AI without losing what makes it Thai. from KFC to PepsiCo, Titipun builds campaigns that stay culturally sharp even as the tech gets smarter — a 2024 Campaign Asia 40 Under 40 honoree.

Noël Bunting chief creative officer, publicis london she joined an agency and turned it into the most talked-about name in london — in exactly one year. her Oreo Daily Twist campaign won a Cannes Grand Prix Lion. her own rule: "i'm a human being first, creative leader second."

Nkanyezi Masango chief creative officer, ogilvy south africa two decades in, and he still believes culture is the sharpest creative tool there is. from TBWA Johannesburg to Dentsu Creative, he's judged at D&AD and taken the main stage at Cannes Lions. off the clock, he founded Blackboard Community, opening advertising careers to students who'd otherwise never get the shot.

Kidong Kim chief executive officer, bitree corporation he thinks the smartest growth strategy is still a human one — AI just makes it faster. Kidong built Bitree around one bet: AI accelerates speed and scale, but insight, emotion, and storytelling are what make growth actually stick.

nine ways of answering the same question: what happens when technology and human creativity actually work together? that's the conversation MAD STARS is opening this year.