Jury Alumni

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  Alero Dawn Akuya

  Vice President of Global Brand, LEGO

  2024 Branding & Identity Jury Member

  While at Nike for 13 years, Alero was responsible for some of the most pivotal brand transformations for the sport and culture giant. Most notably, Alero created Nike's Purpose Marketing division, leading Nike's role in sport and social impact alongside key athletes Colin Kaepernick, Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant and many more. She led Nike New York where she orchestrated the launch of Nike's collaboration with Virgil Abloh at New York Fashion Week-- a first for the brand, and one of Nike's most successful collaborations of all time.
  Alero now serves as the Vice President of Global Brand for The LEGO Group. She is responsible for transforming the impact of the 89-year-old Danish brand globally to become a proactive cultural leader through play advocacy, inclusion, and innovation. She has led integrated brand strategy and global initiatives, and campaigns such as Rebuild the World, 90 Years of Play, Play Unstoppable, and Everyone is Awesome. Alero is committed to inspiring a world play movement to ensure creative play remains a birth rite to all children.
  

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  Taamrat Amaize

  Chief Strategy Officer, Collins

  2024 Branding & Identity Jury Captain

  I'm a strategist who doesn't believe in conned thinking.
  I like using provocative approaches and out-of-category parallels to arrive at solutions. I live for problem-solving and apply that kind of critical thinking to both business and brand challenges.
  My experience with established brand behemoths and scrappy start-ups— from technology to CPG, B2B and B2C—has given me an invaluable perspective.

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  Nu Goteh

  Principal, Room for Magic

  2024 Branding & Identity Jury Member

  Nu Goteh is a multi-disciplinary creative & designer who works in audio, visual, and written mediums. He is the co-founder of the strategy and design studio, Room for Magic, and co-founder and creative director of partner publication, Deem Journal. Nu’s practice is informed by his love for counter/subculture(s), his background as a Liberian-born refugee, and a lifelong dedication to building platforms that enable communities to engage in shared experiences.

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  Nermin Moufti

  Design Director + Partner, Field of Practice

  2024 Branding & Identity Jury Member

  Nermin is a brand alchemist, design director, and co-founder of Field of Practice, a women- and member- owned creative studio that designs for change.
  
  A whole-hearted champion for form, function and care, Nermin translates thoughtful strategies into holistic design systems. She’s reinvigorated hyper-local to global brands and led boundary-breaking campaigns for Karam Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Type Directors Club, Dentologie, and the Collaborative for Gender and Reproductive Equity. Her work has been recognized by the STA 100, Typewolf, Brand New, Communication Arts, and Fast Company Innovation by Design. She holds a BSc in Visual Communications from the American University of Sharjah (UAE), and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, Media and Design from OCAD University. She’s living and working from her Chicago home.