APO Group (www.APO-opa.com), the leading pan-African communications consultancy and press release distribution service, is proud to announce that Lynne Krawchuk, Vice President Digital, PR and Media Relations, will judge the prestigious and respected South African New Generation Social and Digital Media awards (www.NewGenAwards.co.za).

Identifying true winners in the forefront of South Africa’s future communications, media and digital technologies, The New Gen awards (www.NewGenAwards.co.za) - founded in 2012 by entrepreneur and marketing professional, Stephen Paxton – has established a reputation as the largest independent social and digital media awards in South Africa.

Through an array of exciting categories, the awards recognise both the leading Corporates and Agencies that produce outstanding campaigns to promote themselves and brands in ground-breaking ways. Award categories include the Corporate Awards, Agency Awards, Online Media & Tools Awards, Student Awards, Individual Awards and the Overall Special Awards. The awards celebrate ingenuity, with a specific focus on results and insight-based success, which makes the awards unique among those largely dominated by equal parts emotion and ideation.

Pleased to be having the likes of Lynne on the 2021 judging panel, New Gen awards founder and CEO, Stephen Paxton said: “It gives me enormous pleasure to welcome back Lynne Krawchuk to this year’s judging panel. Lynne’s passion for strategic brand solutions, digital media, public relations and technical innovation will add immense value and deep insights into this year’s campaign entries. It’s great to have her on-board for the second year running. The awards continually evolve to include new trends in social & digital media, new industry technology and platforms, as well as international trends making their way into South Africa.”

With entries open until June 30, 2021, this year Lynne will sit amongst 21 peers who will evaluate and moderate this year’s entries, submitted across the five categories. The senior communication professionals that comprise the evaluation committee include:

• Genie Botha - Head of Product Design at MakeReign (https://bit.ly/3gzhz7r)
• Molefi Thulo - Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy South Africa (https://bit.ly/3vrpZTB)
• Tracy Jones - Founder and Managing Director at Positive Dialogue (https://bit.ly/3gFUUGD)
• Zubeida Goolam - Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Valiant Agency (https://bit.ly/3vsK5wZ)
• Asha Patel - Head of B2B Marketing sub-Saharan Africa and Head of Marketing Google South Africa (https://bit.ly/3cKRl0t)
• Shivani Naidoo - Portfolio Manager: Digital Marketing at Vodacom (https://bit.ly/3gA3tCF)
• Craig Miles - Creative Director, Hellosquare (https://bit.ly/2Suf3aH)
• Mike Sharman - Entrepreneur and Founder, Retroviral (https://bit.ly/3xmLMxe)
• Darren Leishman - Cofounder and CEO, Spitfire Inbound (https://bit.ly/3zEskOH)
• Lebo Madiba - Founder, PR Powerhouse (https://bit.ly/35rFIYy)
• Uyanda Manana - Managing Director, Conversation LAB (https://bit.ly/3wu0N0f)
• Mpume Ngobese - Managing Director, Joe Public Connect (https://bit.ly/3gtFC96)
• Luke Goller - Managing Partner - Arc Interactive (https://bit.ly/3cK8GXI)
• Kieren Jacobsen - Communications Director at Levergy (https://bit.ly/3zsHPsF)
• Danielle Morley - Chief Executive Officer - Digital Optimization (https://bit.ly/3zuZXSY)
• Templar Wales – Director at DYDX Digital (https://bit.ly/2U9SRTD)
• Tara Turkington – CEO, Flow Communications (https://bit.ly/3gzCuY5)
• Jeff Siepman – Co-founder and Creative Director, Livion Media (https://bit.ly/35oVzXB)
• Gillian Findlay – CEO, Cambial Communications and Head Judge (https://bit.ly/3vxaFF4)
• Astrid Ascar – Digital Strategy, Marketing and Content Creation consultant, Practitioner and Chief Growth Officer at Wunderman Thompson (https://bit.ly/3iGuGX7)
• Prakash Patel - Senior Marketing and Executive Director, ForKeeps (https://bit.ly/3vuh8kn)

In her second year of judging, Lynne has more than 20 years of experience in public relations and digital marketing. A senior executive born in Cape Town and residing in Johannesburg, she has worked across the African continent, and throughout Europe, spending much of her early career in the event management space in the UK.

Currently she leads APO Group’s consultancy division, helping multinational companies thrive in Africa. In particular, Lynne focuses on building communication strategies and leading creative campaigns that connect APO Group’s customers with media all over Africa and beyond.

Excited about being part of the judging panel again, Lynne said that it was an honour to be recognised in the industry and acknowledged as a leading professional earmarked for developing and identifying the next generation of innovators and idea makers.

“To be part of the judging panel is certainly a remarkable testament of growth within my career and where I have positioned myself within the industry. To be able to witness the growth of entries and engage with creative thinkers and professionals alike who raise the bar year on year, the New Gen awards has elevated my understanding of what exists in the markets and opened me up to next generation social and digital leaders and thinkers.”

As well as working towards challenging international perceptions of Africa, Lynne is passionate about making a difference in people’s lives, with a particular interest in promoting equality and developing women leaders on the continent, which the New Generation awards affords her to do.

“Africa and in particular South Africa is burgeoning with unique women in the industry who are certainly rocking the creative and ideation boat. The New Gen awards affords me the opportunity to identify these leading ladies and create a platform for them to shine and showcase their ingenuity.”