Effie APAC announce McCann's Dheeraj Sinha as Head of Jury for 2026

The Effie Asia Pacific has appointed Dheeraj Sinha, CEO of McCann India, as Head of Jury for its 2026 awards competition, as per media reports.

Additionally, Cheryl Goh, Group Head of Marketing, Sustainability, Loyalty and Support, Grab, has been appointed as the Head of Jury.

Both executives will be part of the judging committee overseeing the evaluation of entries from across the region.

Sinha has worked with brands including PepsiCo, Uber, Spotify, Amazon, Tata AIG and ITC Aashirwad. He is also president of The Advertising Club and has previously served on juries, including at the APAC Effie Awards.

On his appointment, Sinha said he was “honoured to serve as a Head of Jury,” adding that the Effies represent “the gold standard for effectiveness, recognising ideas that create real business impact.”

He said creativity, data and technology are converging to unlock growth and that he looked forward to working with the jury panel to evaluate ideas that demonstrate business impact.

Goh, who was part of Grab’s early founding team, oversees marketing, sustainability, loyalty programmes and customer experience operations across the company’s businesses. Her responsibilities span multiple verticals and include oversight of the profit and loss of Grab’s loyalty programmes.

On her appointment, Goh said she was “deeply honoured” to take on the role, adding that the Effies represent “creativity that creates real impact.” She said that in an environment shaped by artificial intelligence and evolving platforms, balancing imagination with measurable results is increasingly important.

The 2026 entry season will close on March 9, the final deadline for submissions.