Chair of Judges, Sheila Mitchell CBE, Former Marketing Director for Public Health England

Following a commercial sector career at British Telecom, including responsibility for consumer communications, Sheila moved to the public sector where latterly she was Director of Marketing for Public Health England. In this role she had responsibility for the marketing and engagement of a wide range of health issues from NHS cancer screening programmes through to dementia awareness and lifestyle behavioural programmes. She was the architect of key programmes such as Change4Life, Stoptober, Be Clear on Cancer and Better Health.

Sheila and her team launched the first ever NHS national campaign to address mental health education and self-care support “Every Mind Matters”. Critical to this was changing the narrative to reframing mental health as being as important as physical health and to providing accessible digital support. The campaign brought together a huge coalition of government and health bodies with mental health charities and providers and the media, technology and commercial sector. The Royal Foundation was also an active supporter. Four years on, the campaign continues to drive measurable actions and support millions of people in identifying mental issues and getting the right kind of help.

Poppy Jaman, Founder and Executive Vice Chair, MindForward Alliance

Poppy Jaman is responsible for strengthening, aligning, and growing MindForward Alliance globally. Her focus is on achieving closer integration between the existing regions, while working with businesses and partners to grow the workplace mental health network into new regions. 

Before MindForward Alliance UK, Poppy was the Founder and CEO of Mental Health First Aid England. She led the development of the organisation from a small government initiative into an independent community interest company, recognised as one of the fastest-growing SMEs in Europe by the Financial Times (FT) in 2017.

Poppy was also an advisor on the Board of Public Health England for six years and played a key role in the creation of the NHS’s Every Mind Matters platform. In 2018, Poppy was awarded an OBE in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the mental health sector.

Poppy is a proud British Bengali and saree enthusiast, supporting sustainable fashion and artisans in South Asia. However, above all else, her personal point of pride is her family; she is the mother of four incredible children.

Simon Gunning, Chief Executive Officer, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)

Simon Gunning is CEO of suicide prevention organisation Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). Since joining CALM in 2017, Simon has overseen rapid transformation of its brand and operations, more than doubling its helpline service provision to reach more people before the point of crisis. In 2022 alone CALM provided 3 million minutes of support for people who were struggling.

Creative campaigns and partnerships with brands and agencies has driven huge growth in CALM’s profile and revenue, helping to drive awareness and challenge the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide.

As a measure of effectiveness, CALM was the most awarded brand in the world in 2023

Prior to CALM, Simon led the digital, marketing and commercial divisions of Virgin Media TV, EMI Music, the BBC and BBH.

Lindsey Clay, Chief Executive, Thinkbox

Following a career in advertising Lindsey's love of telly drew her to Thinkbox, the UK marketing body for commercial TV, where she now leads the brilliant team who make it their mission to help brands get the best out of today’s TV. Lindsey is a passionate and persuasive advocate of the power of TV advertising, the benefits of gender equality and the joy of netball.

A regular industry speaker, commentator and awards judge, Lindsey is also a member and former President of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communication Leadership), a member and former President of the Global TV Group, a Fellow of the Marketing Society, an Honorary Fellow of the IPA and a member of the Marketing Group of Great Britain.

Lindsey is a Trustee of The Rank Foundation, a philanthropic organisation and the charitable legacy of Joseph Arthur Rank (1888-1972) whose aim is to improve the lives of people and their communities, across the UK. Its beneficiaries include many community-based organisations which support those with mental health needs.

Lindsey is a trained Mental Health First Aider, as are 20% of her team at Thinkbox.

Chris Birch, Executive Creative Director, VCCP

Chris has been leading the creative output of VCCP London as joint exec creative director since 2020. In this time, VCCP became the UK’s biggest creative agency. Before being promoted to ECD, Chris lead, and continues to lead, the Cadbury and Mondelez account in the UK and globally, winning numerous D&AD pencils, BTAA arrows, Campaign Big Awards for ad of the year and The IPA effectiveness Grand Prix in 2023. In a previous life at Dentsu UK, Chris launched an egg timer which continues to be very popular in China somehow. At Leo Burnett he won D&AD pencils for a Kellogg’s campaign of blatant lies, so all this should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Maisie McCabe, UK Editor, Campaign

Maisie McCabe is the UK editor at Campaign. Haymarket Media Group, the owner of Campaign, promoted Maisie to her current position in March 2020 after six years as deputy editor. At Haymarket since 2008, she oversees Campaign UK’s editorial team and content and supports the brand’s commercial and live events. Campaign won Editorial Team of the Year at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards in 2022 and 2023 and Media Brand of the Year (Business Media) at the 2023 PPA Awards.

Susie Braun, Director of Sustainability and Social Purpose, ITV

Susie Braun is Director of Sustainability and Social Purpose at ITV, leading on ITV’s mission to shape culture for good. With four focus areas - Better Health, Climate Action, Diversity and Inclusion and Giving Back - ITV seeks to use its huge reach and unforgettable content to help change attitudes and behaviours both on-screen and behind the scenes.

Susie’s team runs projects including the UK’s most recognised mental health campaign, Britain Get Talking, which encourages everyone to connect with each other to protect their mental wellbeing, supported by Mind and YoungMinds, alongside other award-winning mental and physical health campaigns with CALM and VegPower. In 2023, ITV brought together agencies, TV and content producers and mental health professionals for the first ever Mental Health in the Media Conference. Susie began her career in advertising.

Kate Waters, Client Strategy & Planning Director, ITV

Kate is a creative strategist by background, having worked at several ad agencies across a wide range of categories and clients, including Financial Services, FMCG, telecoms and public sector.

In 2011 she started her own agency, Now, working with clients including BT, Public Health England, New York Bakery and the Women's Equality Party and in 2019 she moved to ITV to set up a client strategy team within the Commercial Division. Four years on, the team includes creative strategists, comms planners, data scientists and cultural strategists, who work with ITV's clients to shape partnerships, plan campaigns and innovate new techniques to measure effectiveness. 

Kate has a strong interest in behaviour change and behavioural science, having worked on issues including smoking cessation, teenage pregnancy, crime, transport and  and energy efficiency. She is also the climate action lead for Commercial and was the 2021-22 President of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership).