The US Hispanic Young Lions 2022 Competition announces Judges

The 2022 U.S. Hispanic Young Lions Competitions started on Thursday, February 17, 2022.

The Meta team briefed the creatives teams, who partnered with Círculo Creativo USA, offering their support by sponsoring again this year’s competition in the search for the teams that will represent the US Hispanic Market at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

On Monday, Círculo Creativo USA will share the creative with the jury, and the search for the best team will be on its way. Whom will the jury be for this edition?

We have six unique and very talented, award-winning, renowned jurors.

• Benny Thomas, Global Planning Lead – Creative & Experiential at Meta
• Raúl Méndez Benavent, Global Creative Lead at Meta
• Paola Aldaz Biere, Co-Chief Executive Officer & President at DDB Colombia Group
• Rodrigo Figueroa Reyes, Founder & CEO at FiReSPORTS
• José Beker, Co Founder at BeSo by LLYC
• John Santiago, Chief Client Officer at Dentsu Creative / Founder, CEO at M8

“It is a great honor to count with this jury. Choosing the teams representing us as an industry at Cannes is not an easy task. It is a big responsibility. USH Market has won three times since participating in this important creative contest, and we hope to have many more wins. That’s why we have chosen six outstanding professionals, people who have seen it all. It won’t be an easy job to amuse them, yet, I am certain that for this new generation of talented young creatives, it won’t be impossible,” says Flor Leibaschoff, President of Círculo Creativo USA.

“Investing on the next generation of Latino Creative talent, especially given the increased attention to DE&I, is part of the Círculo Creativo promise and commitment. If we think about it diversity made music, arts, cuisine and science more creative. It is our mission to do the same on the marketing and advertising field, with a special focus on Latino talent and their creative output. We thank Meta for their support and partnership and we look forward to great representation at the Cannes Lions 2022” says Luis Miguel Messianu, Chairman of Círculo Creativo USA.

Please read below if you want to know more about our notable jurors.

Benny Thomas

Benny Thomas is the Lead Global Planner at Facebook, responsible for B2B creative marketing strategy across the Facebook family of apps. Over the last 30 years, he has run research, built integrated global marketing campaigns and helped businesses grow through creativity. Beginning as a copywriter, Benny led creative and strategy at some of the world’s leading agencies in Asia and the US, including TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Young & Rubicam and Lowe Lintas on brands such as Best Buy, Infiniti, Netflix, Bacardi, Sony, Unilever and Microsoft. He has won creative and strategy awards at Cannes, the Jay Chiat StratFest and the Effies for his work on PayPal, LG, Pedigree and Charles Schwab. He is an adjunct professor of brand strategy in the graduate program in Branding and Integrated Communications at City College, New York.

“Art is not what you see but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas

Benny is passionate about bringing a cultural vision to business strategy, mentoring the next generation of thinkers and stirring up creative ideas. He is proud to hail from the state of Kerala, the most literate corner of India, and is constantly trying to live up to those standards.

Raúl Mendez Benavent

Raúl is creative director copywriter with 13 years of experience working at agencies like Dieste, Anomaly NY, MullenLowe NY on clients like AT&T, ETRADE, Miller Lite and New Balance. Most recently, he’s been working at Meta as a global creative lead on the Economic Impact team. His work has been awarded at Cannes, One Show, Webbys, El Ojo, El Sol de Iberoamérica and the USH Awards to name a few. In 2012 he won the Circulo Creativo Young Lions competition in the print category and still thinks about a sandwich he ate at Cannes that year.

Paola Aldaz Biere

Top executive in the field of innovation, business development and transformation through the power of digital technology.

Pioneer in applying data science to business decision for the adoption of new technologies, based on human behaviors.

Managed over $1 billion in budget expenditures on behalf of top brands and portfolios including Mastercard, The Coca-Cola Company, The Walt Disney Company and Visa among others focusing on business growth, technology adoption, expert in customer/human experience, innovative forms of products, marketing and communications, known as “Marketing 4.0 and Growth Hacking Model.”

Passionate to build cross-functional teams to promote the adoption of new technologies and corporate transformations for the exponential age (ExOs).

My current job is not just making ads but helping brands come to life, and I’m in love with it.

I have been awarded with more than 250 recognitions, including Cannes Lion, Effies, best marketeer in Latam 2018, and #womentowatch2017.

Juror in Cannes Lions in Data Creative in 2018, and in Creative Business Transformation in 2021.

Author of BrandExponential-liquid thinking.

University Professor for MBA & Graduate programs and keynote speaker, focus on creativity, innovation, leadership and ExOs.

My other full-time job is taking care of my two teenage boys and my golden retriever,

Rodrigo Figueroa Reyes

Rodrigo Figueroa Reyes began his career as a messenger at Ratto/BBDO in 1987 and over the next 20 years he developed his career as Jr Copywriter at Gowland Publicidad, Copywriter at GrafittiPublicis, Senior Copywriter at Pragma/FCB, Creative Director at Casares GREY until returning to Pragma /FCB as Chief Creative Officer with only 29 years and more than 50 people in his charge, making the agency one of the most awarded in Argentina. These results led him to take over as president and CCO of DDB Argentina in February 2000.

He was a juror at Cannes Lions four times: Film (1999), Titanium & Integrated (2007), Branded Content (2012) and Entertainmeny (2021).

Among the awards won are Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions at Cannes, Clio awards, One Show Entertainment, London & New York Festival, the Grand Prix of the Circulo de Creativos Argentinos, the FIAP Media Innovation Grand Prix, the Grand Content Prix in El Ojo de Iberoamérica and more than 200 short lists around the world.

His theory is that traditional advertising ceased to be a mere communication experience to become a powerful entertainment weapon. That prompted him to create his own company: FiRe Advertainment, the pioneering agency in the creation of Branded Content, which in 2018 joined with Foote Cone & Belding to become FCB&FiRe.

In 2020 it launches FiReSPORTS, the first esports organization to emerge from an agency, which has the largest Counter Strike League in Spain and Latam, a 600 m2 Gaming Center in Buenos Aires, a digital media called Infobae Latin Power with 1M monthly viewers, a women’s team from Valorant in Mexico, the most important gamer transfer company in Latin America based in Madrid and LOS CRACK, the major esports industry award.

Perhaps that is why Rodrigo was chosen a few years ago by Advertising Age Magazine as one of the “10 Global Players”, who, when explaining this distinction, highlight that he is “one of the 10 people in the communication to consider in the world”.

José Beker
Pepe began his career in 1990 in Mexico at the advertising agency Alazraki y Asociados.

Over the years as Creative Director he won the Grand Prize for Radio at the FIAP Festival and at the New York Festival, he won the first gold in the history of Mexico in an international award festival.

In 1993 he continued his career at FCB, where in a few years he transformed the agency into one of the most creative in Mexico and the most awarded transnational agency.

In 1996 Pepe joined Gilbert DDB.

In 1997 he was invited to start the operation of Publicis in Mexico.

In 2000 he started as a partner of EURO RSCG Beker, becoming its CEO.

Throughout his career, he has managed brands such as: Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble Levi’s, Nestlé, L’Oreal, Kimberly Clark, among others.

In I998 he was the president of the “Círculo Creativo” in Mexico and a jury at Cannes, FIAP, Clio, the New York Festival and the London Festival, among others.

He is currently Co-founder of BESO, which in just 10 years is one of the largest multiplatform agencies in Mexico with more than 200 collaborators and clients such as: SKY, Liverpool, Honda, Lala, Suburbia, Microsoft, Banorte, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Genomma Lab, Mattel, Kellogg’s, Televisa, Mercedes Benz, among others.

On September 20, 2021 BESO partners with the largest consulting firm in Latin America, LLYC (Llorente & Cuenca) to become BESO by LLYC, forming one of the largest communication groups in Mexico and the region.

John Santiago

John is currently the Chief Client Officer at dentsu Creative and the Founder/CEO of M8 (acquired by Dentsu, 2018). John has launched and led multiple digital-focused ad agencies and companies to successful acquisitions and is recognized as an industry leader and veteran marketer.

John is also an active investor and Founder/Managing Director of The Oven, which provides seed capital, professional guidance, physical and corporate infrastructure, and the relationships necessary to launch early-stage technology businesses.

In July 2021, John launched Raised, a 501c3 nonprofit which helps single parents and their children reach their full potential. Raised provides assistance with housing and childcare expenses to improve the lives of single parents and their young children while helping young adults with career planning, future-proof industry certifications, and career connections with the world’s leading companies.