Trevor Kennedy, the Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, was recently appointed to the ADFEST 2016 jury and will join an eminent gathering of creative professionals at the upcoming festival, which is set to take place in Pattaya, Thailand this March. 

Founded in 1998, ADFEST is Asia’s most recognized and celebrated creative festival that brings together thousands of delegates from around the world to acknowledge and promote creative excellence in the region. The festival provides an important platform where professionals from across the industry can network, exchange ideas and participate in unique learning opportunities. 

Kennedy has been at the helm of Leo Burnett’s creative success in Sri Lanka and under his astute leadership, the agency has made history for the country, whilst making a lasting mark on the global marketing communications industry at large. Trevor brings with him decades of experience and has served on several high profile juries throughout his career. Today, he is recognized as one of the region’s most talented and experienced creative leaders, who has raised the bar for creativity, consistency and quality within his agency and the local industry. 

Over the past two years, Kennedy has helped Leo Burnett Sri Lanka to win a total of 52 international awards at the world’s most prestigious awards shows including ADC, ADFEST, Cannes, Clio, D&AD, LIA, The One Show, Spikes Asia and many more. Prior to moving to Sri Lanka, he worked at London’s top creative agencies for 26 years. Before taking over the creative leadership of Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, Trevor was working as the Executive Creative Director of Pan-European agency Scholz & Friends (which he Co-founded in London in 1998). When stepping into his new role in Sri Lanka in 2006 Kennedy brought with him an in-depth knowledge of the industry, having worked with iconic brands such as Heineken, Lloyds Bank, Ovaltine, Martini, BMW, British Telecom and Gordon’s Gin.  

Trevor has also won trophies from many award shows around the world and has a first class BA Honours degree in Graphic Design from Liverpool John Moores. He is a Scotsman whose love for music, culture and the arts has helped him to cultivate a unique and insightful view of the world and its people. 

Commenting on Kennedy’s appointment to the ADFEST jury, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. (LBSI) Managing Director Ranil de Silva stated, “We are extremely honoured that Trevor has been selected to serve on the ADFEST 2016 jury. In Sri Lanka, he has helped our agency team to reach new heights and has helped us to craft world-class campaigns and creative work for our portfolio of local and global clients. Trevor doesn’t just guide his team; he motivates them to reach for the stars and urges them to strive for creative excellence. He truly is involved at every step of the creative process and works tirelessly to ensure that each and every piece of work is of the highest quality. I believe that his input and feedback will undoubtedly make a valuable contribution to ADFEST 2016.” 

This year, ADFEST has selected ‘Creative Excellence’ as its theme and will focus on how technology is helping the world to rapidly evolve. The festival will highlight how communication is changing and how single channel communication methods are being replaced by multi-networked programmes that connect people with information with the single click of a button. ADFEST 2016 will reiterate the importance of creative minds learning how to communicate intelligently through the new paths of technology that are available to them today. This year the festival will feature an eminent panel of speakers, innovative seminars, workshops, exhibitions and screenings, the grand awards show and social functions, which will bring delegates together and provide them with an opportunity to learn, enhance their knowledge, build their skills, find inspiration and build friendships. 

As Leo Burnett celebrates its 16th year of operations in Sri Lanka and looks ahead to the future, the agency will continue to focus on its HumanKind approach to help build powerful brands and meaningful partnerships with its clients, while delivering gratifying results and gaining peer recognition in the industry.