From a young age, Paulo’s passion for creativity was unmistakable — one of his earliest memories is asking Santa Claus for a stack of plain white paper, just so he could keep drawing. What began as a childhood fascination with arts and crafts soon evolved into a self-taught journey into the world of computer graphics, including image editing, 3D modeling, animation, video editing and photography.

His professional career began in 2007 as a creative intern at Ogilvy São Paulo. Since then, he has had the privilege of working with some of Brazil’s most renowned agencies, including Almap BBDO and Africa DDB. Along the way, his work has been recognized at some of the industry’s most respected international festivals — milestones that ultimately brought him to Dubai, where he joined FP7 McCann.

Today, he serves as Senior Creative Director and Head of Art at FP7 McCann. In this role, he leads multidisciplinary teams and helps shape award-winning campaigns for a diverse portfolio of global brands including Mastercard, McDonald’s, Heinz, Volkswagen, Audi, IBM, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Havaianas, Unilever, UNICEF and Pfizer.

Prasoon is the CEO & CCO of McCann Worldgroup India and Chairman of McCann Asia Pacific. A visionary who seamlessly blends advertising, entertainment, and content, he is one of the most influential creative voices in the industry today.

With a Master’s in Physics and an MBA, Prasoon brings rare intellect and artistry to his multifaceted role as a poet, screenwriter, lyricist and creative leader. Under his leadership, McCann Worldgroup India has become a creative powerhouse, consistently winning at Cannes Lions, D&AD, and other global award shows. The agency has been ranked India’s #1 creative agency for three consecutive years by The Gunn Report/WARC.

He has crafted iconic campaigns for brands like Air India, Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Mastercard, Nestlé, J&J, Reckitt, Microsoft, and Dabur, while also driving powerful work on national issues such as polio eradication, malnutrition, and the Clean India Mission. His acclaimed film “HappyDent Palace” was named one of the “Top 20 Campaigns of the 21st Century” by The Gunn Report.

A former Cannes Titanium Lions Jury President and One Club board member, Prasoon is also a celebrated poet-lyricist and National Award-winning writer. Honored with the Padma Award for socio-cultural impact, his recent grand musical enjoyed a spectacular theatrical run.

Douglas Kozonoe, aka “Dogura,” is the Chief Creative Officer at MRM Brazil, a modern relationship marketing agency that specializes in CRM, CX and Commerce. In his first year as CCO, he propelled MRM into the Top 10 most creative agencies in Brazil, and Top 20 in Latin America (Cannes Lions rankings).

With 25+ years of experience in digital advertising, Dogura has earned more than 50 industry awards, including Brazil’s first Gold Lion in Creative Commerce at Cannes Lions. His accolades span prestigious competitions such as One Show, D&AD, London International Awards, Clio Awards, New York Festival, Effie, and Jay Chiat, alongside numerous Latin American honors.

Dogura has also contributed to the industry as a juror for the Effie Awards (2022-2024), Effie Awards Latam, El Ojo Festival, and the Brazilian Creative Club festival.

Beyond advertising, he holds a degree in Musical Arts (electric bass) from the Villa Lobos Conservatory, a Design degree from Mackenzie University, and a postgraduate degree in Communication, Art, and Technology from Belas Artes University in São Paulo.

Fun fact: His grandparents, unable to pronounce “Douglas” due to their Japanese accent, lovingly nicknamed him “Dogura”—a name that stuck.

Valerie is the Chief Creative Officer for McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific and one of the few female creative leaders in the region. Though she never envisioned becoming a leader after graduating from art school, her passion for painting since childhood evolved into a 20+ year creative career. She has worked with top brands like Zespri, Caltex, HP, P&G, Singapore Airlines, HSBC, Burger King, Shell and the Singapore Tourism Board.

Previously, she led Meta’s Creative Shop for Southeast Asia & Emerging Markets, where she elevated creative effectiveness across Meta’s media platforms. Today, she finds the most joy leading regional creative work for Mastercard and Ferrero, grounded in McCann’s “Truth Well Told” philosophy.

Valerie has judged and been recognized at global award shows including Cannes Lions (three times), D&AD (jury president), One Show, Effies and Spikes Asia. Passionate about mentoring, she champions female creatives through initiatives like “See It Be It” at Spikes, McCann’s “Ambition Collective,” and AdFest’s “Shape My Portfolio.”

Besides creativity at work, her creative spirit takes new form through her own ice cream brand called “Licktionary”, where her unique flavors are inspired by words from her husband, and her newfound love of pottery where she pushes the artistic boundaries of form and function. Valerie was named ‘Creative Captain’ at Campaign Asia’s “Women Leading Change Awards” 2025.

Shilpa is currently Chief Strategy Officer APAC at McCann Worldgroup. In a versatile career spanning over two decades, Shilpa has worked as a marketer & strategist, in global, regional and local roles in preeminent organizations like Unilever, WPP & IPG. Armed with firsthand senior leadership stints in prominent markets like India, the UK, China, Russia and Singapore, Shilpa has relentlessly imbibed the cultural zeitgeist of the Orient and the Occident. Shilpa’s rich brand building experience transcends diverse categories and brands like L’Oréal Paris, Lakme, Nivea, Sunsilk, Mondelez, Coca Cola, Nestle, Lincoln, BMW and more. Additionally, Shilpa has served as Assistant Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales (The Commonwealth, Faith and Ethnic Communities’).

A champion of effectiveness and creativity, Shilpa has led her teams to compelling performances at the Effies, has been on the jury of Effie Russia, Effie APAC, Effie Singapore. Effie Worldwide Best of the Best, and has won creativity awards including Cannes Lion.

Shilpa has headlined Asian thought leadership with the ‘Truth about Ascending Asia’ study, has been featured in Campaign Asia’s ‘Women to Watch’ 2024, is a Founding Board Member at IAA Singapore and Chair of IAA Singapore’s Professional Development Council.

eff is a channel-agnostic creative with more than 20 years of experience leading some of the largest and most iconic brands in the world.

Jeff joined Weber Shandwick in 2012, bringing his rich visual thinking and experience in traditional advertising to build a new kind of creative department from the ground up. He brought in a multitude of diverse talent that helped shape Weber Shandwick into a powerhouse creative agency, appearing on the Ad Age A-List 4 times in the last decade.

Jeff has served as the mind behind culture-shaping integrated campaigns, winning numerous awards and helping the agency secure millions of dollars in new business. Named to PR Week’s 40 Under 40 in 2017, Jeff has led creative across a range of different accounts including Kellanova, A-B InBev, Verizon, Abbott, Mars, 5-Hour Energy, Harley-Davidson and more.

Jeff was named the Creative Professional of the Year at the Innovation SABRE Awards after helping to develop The First Edible Mascot for Pop-Tarts. This scroll-stopping campaign transformed a typical college bowl sponsorship into one of the most talked about cultural moments of 2023 – winning the Cannes Lions Grand Prix in Brand Experience & Activation, a Grand Clio, an Andy Award and several others.

His varied experience includes work across television, print, digital, social and direct for clients such as Oreo, Maytag, Coca-Cola, Blackberry, Motorola and others.