Jury

Kevin Fernandes
Head of Media, Team Lewis

A forward-thinking media and advertising technology leader with over 15 years of experience, specialising in full-funnel media buying capabilities, strategic partnerships, and data-driven media planning. Throughout a distinguished career, Kevin has shared a consistent focus on combining strategic thinking with consumer-centric insights that has driven measurable growth and innovation across some of the world's most recognised brands including Kia, Emirates, Swarovski, Destination NSW, Geely, COTY Perfumes, and Perfetti, among others.

In senior leadership roles, this expertise has been applied to developing advanced solutions across multiple channels, enhancing collaboration frameworks with publishing media partners, and resolving complex technical challenges to strengthen client retention and product performance. Kevin has a hands-on approach to managing the day-to-day operations and optimisation of offline and online campaigns across trading desks, publishing channels, agencies, and direct advertisers. He has built a track record of nurturing long-term client relationships while maximising platform capabilities and expanding partnership scope.

A standout milestone came at Havas Media Group, where Kevin led the activation of DoubleVerify's DV Authentic Ad measurement solution as the default currency across all client campaigns making Havas the first Australian agency to do so. As Head of Data Solutions and AdTech, Kevin championed this industry-first initiative to protect client investments and drive media quality at scale, using DoubleVerify insights to make fundamental shifts to campaign variables including formats and publisher selection, delivering significantly improved outcomes across the board. Kevin has also been at the forefront of the industry's transition away from third-party cookies. Under his leadership, Havas became the first Australian agency to trial cookieless programmatic buying solutions, partnering with identity technology providers including ID5 to test and validate post-cookie targeting capabilities positioning Havas clients ahead of the curve as the industry moved toward a privacy-first future.

He has been recognised as one of AdNews' Top 30 Emerging Leaders (2018), this industry standing reflects a commitment to excellence, innovation, and developing the next generation of media talent. He was a Jury Member at at Spikes Asia Awards 2023 and Festival of Media APAC Awards 2024.