Diageo global marketer to chair The Drum Marketing Awards USA 2019

In his role at Diageo, Shah leads key global initiatives for Smirnoff across the marketing mix. Which includes building a new global communications platform, partnering with Spotify to make music more equal and developing new packaging for Smirnoff in Africa.

On his appointment, he said: “The Drum Marketing Awards USA is a great way to celebrate some of the genius boundary-pushing creativity that our industry develops, as well as highlighting marketing’s role in growing businesses and building connections with consumers and customers.

“I’m looking forward to seeing a range of emotionally engaging creative work that’s underpinned by data-driven insight and deployed in an impactful way, driving maximum efficiency and effectiveness.”

Prior to Diageo, Shah held various marketing roles at Virgin Media, where he worked across one of the UK’s largest marketing budgets and delivered award-winning campaigns and product launches. His earlier career was spent agency-side at Splendid Communications.

Passionate about embedding brands in culture, brands with purpose and brand turnarounds, Shah is also a scholar of The Marketing Academy US and is a regular contributor to the marketing industry; speaking at Advertising Week and mentoring aspiring marketers on how to break into the industry.

As chairperson, Shah will lead the jury in the search for world-class marketing campaigns and marketers in the US that build more belief in the industry and the talent working within it.

He said: “The Drum Marketing Awards USA is a great way to celebrate some of the awesome work our industry creates, as well as highlighting marketing’s role in growing businesses and building connections with consumers and customers.”

The deadline for The Drum Marketing Awards USA has passed. Nominations will be announced on February 22.