Nominees Category: Nominee 2025

Merlee Jayme

EMPOWERING THE CREATIVE NEURODIVERGENT & DISABLED WITH TRAINING AND INCLUSIVE EMPLOYMENT

Merlee Jayme is an award-winning advertising creative leader. In 2019, the media company The Drum announced the top 100 Chief Creative Directors worldwide, and she is one of eight women on the list.

For 34 years, she has led local and global creatives for brand-building and award-winning campaigns. Then, she was given a role that changed her life: the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer in APAC. Working on real-life solutions, she propagated creativity through inclusivity, from gender to race to disabilities.

In 2024, she went beyond “purpose-telling” to “Purpose doing”.

She created a sustainable entity. First, she founded The Misfits Camp, the only facility dedicated to upskilling neurodivergent and deaf adults. Then, she launched Jayme Headquarters, a creative social enterprise that will help fund the camp and provide an opportunity for Divergent to join the creative workforce.

Sandy Wu

Sandy Wu, appointed Chief Client Officer of Publicis Communications Shanghai (PCSH) in October 2023, leads six creative brands, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, and Publicis Worldwide. She successfully unified these brands into a single creative powerhouse, driving innovation in traditional agency capabilities to meet modern market demands.

Sandy implemented a clear “Growth” strategy spanning business development, operational efficiency, talent cultivation, and cultural transformation. Within just three months, she reversed the company’s decline, achieving significant growth in 2024 despite a challenging market and industry disruptions in China. Her visionary leadership has not only revitalized PCSH but also solidified its position as a leader in the evolving advertising landscape. Sandy’s transformative approach exemplifies her ability to integrate, innovate, and execute strategies that deliver measurable success.

Diageo

At Diageo, our employee engagement strategy is not just a programme, it is a commitment to fostering a workplace where people feel valued, empowered, and inspired to thrive. Rooted in our purpose of celebrating life, every day, everywhere, we cultivate a culture of inclusivity, collaboration, and continuous learning. This approach drives innovation, delivers exceptional results, and help us build a more sustainable future for our company and the communities we serve.

The results speak for themselves: Our significant long-term retention rate underscore the deep sense of belonging and purpose our people experience. By investing in our people, we are not only shaping the future of Diageo but also setting a new standard for what an engaged, purpose-driven workforce can achieve.

INITIATIVE PHILIPPINES

At Initiative Philippines, we’re all about sharp thinking, big ideas, and a culture that actually fuels careers—not just jobs. Here, leadership backs you up, creativity gets the space to breathe, and ambition is expected. It’s the kind of place where talent thrives, people stick around, and the work speaks for itself. Because when you build a team that’s fearless, fired up, and set on making waves, the wins don’t just follow—they echo.

To make this happen, we invest in people from the ground up. Through our dynamic learning sessions at INI-versity, we ensure our team continuously grows. But it’s not just about professional development—we create an environment where passions thrive, from fitness and food to music and adventure. By championing diverse perspectives and a strong sense of community, we empower our people to bring their best selves to work, knowing they’re valued every step of the way.

iProspect

Our Employee Value proposition “Where the ambitious accelerate the possible” is built to encourage perpetual team engagement. This ensures our clients, our work, our people and our community are considered in equal measure.

The impact of our EVP Engagement Plan is clear. In H1 2023 and 2024 we were ranked the agency’s happiest agency in industry wide survey Media i. Importantly, 85% of our people feel the culture is ‘amazing’ vs. 66% a year ago (Pulse Survey, Jan/Feb). 75% feel learning and development is ‘great’ or ‘good’ versus 66% this time last year (Pulse Survey, Jan/Feb).

75% are happy at iProspect vs. 46% last year (Pulse Survey, Jan/Feb). 85% are proud to work at iProspect versus 79% last year (Pulse Survey, Jan/Feb).