Chair & Jury President
Gong CCA 2012
Regional Creative Director for SEA, JWT
Global Executive Creative Director, Lux

As a student, Tay Guan Hin was called into the principal’s office many times because he drew comic characters all over his textbooks. One day, a teacher realised his potential and encouraged his parents, both doctors, to allow Guan to abandon their dream of medical school and pursue his real passion. That turn of events sparked a successful career. Right after he graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, he surprised himself by winning the Best of Show in the LA Creative StudentCompetition. That win helped him land a job at one of the most successful independent west coast agencies, Kresser/Craig.

Guan later returned to Singapore and worked in several creative hot shops, including Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett, before taking a regional role at Grey Worldwide. In 2005, he joined JWT as Regional Executive Creative Director of SEA and was later promoted to the additional role of Global Executive Creative Director of Unilever’s Lux. Part of his creative agenda was to transform Unilever,one of the most respected clients in JWT, into an award winning one, which he successfully did by winning the Spikes Asia 2012 Grand Prix Radio for Lux.

As part of the JWT’s Worldwide Creative Council, he is tasked to bring up creativity in all channels of communication. His leadership helped to propel offices to capture Spikes Asia and Adfest Network of the year in 2008 and 2009.

In 2010, he became the first Singaporean to serve as a Cannes Lions Outdoor Jury President. He was also the first Asian to serve as a D&AD jury foreman in the Poster category, and was the second Asian to ever chair a CLIO Awards Jury, where he led the jury for Print, Poster, Innovative Media and Integrated campaigns.

Guan devotes the same passion and energy that goes into his work into mentoring young talent in Asia. Guan was instrumental in setting up the Crowbar Awards, AdFest’s Young Lotus, and the Award School Asia, which foster budding talent in this region. He organised Portfolio Night and leads JWT Asia Pacific’s on-the-ground effort as part of the agency’s annual sponsorship of Young Spikes. This year, he chaired the Singapore’s Young Cannes Lions Creative Competition and for the first time, the young team brought home Singapore’s first Young Cannes Lion, which happened to be gold.

Guan continues to hunt for his high school teacher on Facebook so he can thank her.

Co-Chair & Head of Jury-Digital
Gong CCA 2012
Executive Creative Director, JWT

Valerie started her career specializing in digital but her portfolio has evolved to include CRM and more integrated creative solutions. She has since made her mark in Cannes, One Show, London International, Effies, Golden Drum, Spikes Asia, and the Webby’s.

Most significantly, Valerie was made the first female chairperson in the history of the Creative Circle Awards Singapore, the country’s premier creative award show. She has also been invited to judge at Adfest 2011, Spikes Asia 201, Cannes Lions 2011 and D&AD 2012.

Most recently, the Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS) awarded her Singapore’s first Digital Creative Director of The Year award at the 2012 Advertising Hall of Fame event.

She is also a member of the Creative Advisory Panel for the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Singapore (4AS) and also a member of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) who runs the Webby Awards.