Lilli English, Chief Strategy Officer at Leo UK, and Jane Christian, EVP Analytics at WPP Media UK, have been appointed as Deputy Convenor of Judges and Chair of the Technical Judging Panel for the IPA Effectiveness Awards 2026, respectively.
As Deputy Convenor, Lilli will assist Convenor of Judges Charlie Ebdy in coordinating the Technical and Industry judging stages and represent these panels during the Client judging process. Lilli will also succeed Charlie Ebdy as Convenor of Judges for the IPA Effectiveness Awards in 2028.
As Chair of the Technical Panel, Jane will lead a group comprised of researchers, insights professionals, econometricians and data scientists in analysing evaluation methods and claims presented as part of the Award entries.
Following this technical evaluation, papers are shared with an Industry Panel comprised of expert practitioners who will shortlist the papers that best demonstrate the payback on their marketing investment. The final stage of the IPA Effectiveness Awards judging process is done by the Client panel, who, alongside recommendations from the Technical and Industry judges, will award the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Special Prizes.
The IPA Effectiveness Awards 2026 include The President’s Prize for Creative Effectiveness, which will recognise the vital role of creativity in driving business success and celebrate the people behind the work delivering tangible results. It forms a key part of Karen Martin’s agenda as IPA President to put creativity back at the heart of the industry and empower the next generation of creative leaders.
Commenting on the appointments:
Charlie Ebdy, CSO at Omnicom Media Group UK and Convenor of Judges of the IPA Effectiveness Awards 2026: “We are very fortunate that Lilli and Jane have joined the IPA Effectiveness Awards team, and I’m delighted to be judging with them in 2026. They are a perfect fit for our Awards mission, combining deep personal expertise with the desire to look for exceptional results beyond traditional methods and specialisms. Together, I am incredibly excited about what we can contribute to the Awards.”
Lilli English, Chief Strategy Officer at Leo UK, and Deputy Convenor of Judges for the IPA Effectiveness Awards: “As Deputy Convenor of Judges, I’m excited to champion the most progressive and impactful marketing thinking in the industry, alongside an outstanding panel of judges who set an exceptionally high bar.”
Jane Christian, EVP Analytics at WPP Media UK, and Chair of the Technical Panel for the IPA Effectiveness Awards: “It’s a real honour to be asked to chair what will be a formidable panel, and to thereby play a key role in keeping the IPA Effectiveness Awards what they are – the most robust and well-respected awards in the industry. I’m looking forward to supporting Charlie and Lilli, as well as getting to learn from the best brand cases in the industry.”
Entries for the IPA Effectiveness Awards 2026 close on 16 April, with the winners announced at a ceremony in October.
Lilli English, Chief Strategy Officer, Leo UK
With more than 15 years of strategic experience across FMCG, retail, food and drink, fashion and luxury, her work has earned some of the industry’s highest honours, including a Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lion, a Gold IPA Effectiveness Award and the Marketing Society Grand Prix.
Before joining Leo, Lilli was CSO at Portas, where she reshaped the agency’s strategic offer and worked with brands at the intersection of culture and commerce, including Sainsbury’s, Ikea, Pandora and Farrow & Ball.
She previously spent eight years at BBH in senior leadership roles, including Head of Strategy, Head of Experience Strategy, and Managing Partner. There, she steered the strategy department to an IPA Effectiveness Agency of the Year win, drove strategic thinking for Absolut, Costa and Tesco, and played a central role in creating the “Food Love Stories” platform, contributing to more than £2.2 billion in incremental revenue.
Lilli began her career in fashion editorial before moving into strategy at Leo Burnett on McDonald’s UK, where she helped shape the McCafé launch and the brand-building work that drove the business turnaround.
Outside the industry, she is also an accomplished illustrator, with two published children’s books and commissioned work for Chanel, Henry Holland and The Design Museum.
Jane Christian, EVP Analytics, WPP Media UK
In 2026, Jane celebrates her 25-year anniversary at WPP Media, after starting as a Graduate Econometrician for MediaCom back in 2001. These days, she leads the Analytics discipline across all of WPP Media in the UK.
For the majority of her career, Jane has honed her skills in media measurement. She is passionate about setting up measurement frameworks for clients that provide holistic measurement across channels, capturing both the short- and longer-term effects of media, to enable clients to maximise the return from their media budgets.
In her time within WPP, Jane has worked on a wide range of clients, including DLG, IKEA, GSK, RBS, Boots, Sky, TUI and Tesco.
Her passion for effectiveness has led Jane to push the effectiveness agenda for the wider industry. Since 2024, she has been a member of the IPA’s Effectiveness Leadership Group (ELG). She has worked extensively with Thinkbox on a number of effectiveness projects, including award-winning Demand Generation and Profit Ability 2. In 2025, Jane spearheaded the IPA Influencer effectiveness as part of her role in the IPA ELG. She was also previously a technical judge for the IPA Effectiveness Awards in 2020.
In 2008, Jane was one of Media Week's 30 under 30. In 2021, Jane was one of Campaign's 40 over 40. When she's not crunching numbers, Jane is a keen golfer, working on getting her handicap down.
Last updated 22 January 2026