Rodrigo Almeida (Monte) Becomes the First Brazilian Announced as a Jury President for El Ojo 2026
August 2026 – Brazilian creative leader Rodrigo Almeida, better known as Monte, Chief Creative Officer of Artplan and partner at Dreamers Group, is among the first nine Jury Presidents announced by El Ojo de Iberoamérica for its 29th edition, which will take place on November 11, 12, and 13 in Buenos Aires. The only Brazilian included in this first group of leading communication and creative industry figures, Monte will chair the El Ojo Print and El Ojo Print Production juries.
Monte takes on the role following a landmark year in his El Ojo career. In 2025, he was named Brazil’s Best Creative, alongside Rafael Gil and Marcello Noronha, while Artplan was recognized as Brazil’s Best Agency and Ibero-America’s Best Independent Agency.
With a career spanning some of Brazil’s most celebrated advertising campaigns and extensive international recognition, Monte has earned 50 Cannes Lions, including four Grand Prix, as well as four Grand Prix at the Effie Awards and five Gran Ojos at El Ojo de Iberoamérica. Before joining Dreamers Group, he served as Executive Creative Director at AlmapBBDO and VML São Paulo.
In addition to Monte, El Ojo has announced eight other professionals who will lead juries for the 2026 edition. This first group of categories reflects the diversity of today’s creative industry, covering Film, Digital & Social, Innovation, Brand Experience, Creative Commerce, Sustainability, and Audio.
Argentine creative Tomás Ostiglia, CCO of LOLA Madrid, will preside over the El Ojo Film jury and will also speak at the festival. Daro González (Argentina), CCO of VML Argentina, will lead the El Ojo Digital & Social jury, while Pablo Vitale (Argentina), SVP Executive Creative Director at Monks, will chair El Ojo Innovation.
Mexican creative Aldo (Coco) Ramírez, CCO of LePub Mexico City, will serve as Jury President for El Ojo Brand Experience & Activation. Gian Carlo Lanfranco (Peru), co-founder and CCO of L&C NY, will chair both El Ojo Sustainable and El Ojo Creative Business Transformation, and will also participate as a festival speaker.
Completing the first group are Charlie Tolmos (Peru), CCO of McCann Lima, as President of El Ojo Direct; Gina Lee (Panama), CCO of Proximity BBDO Colombia, leading El Ojo Creative Commerce; and Florencia Leibaschoff (Argentina), co-founder and CCO of BeautifulBeast, who will preside over El Ojo Radio & Audio.
Additional Jury Presidents will be announced by the festival in the coming months.
Ibero-American Creativity Under Review
Each year, El Ojo brings together professionals from agencies, production companies, and brands to evaluate entries across its various award categories. The composition of the juries is designed to combine diverse career paths, markets, and perspectives on the evolution of creativity and communications across Ibero-America.
Many of the newly announced jury presidents have longstanding relationships with the festival, having previously participated as jurors, speakers, or award winners.
Monte, for example, has won five Gran Ojos and has also appeared on the festival stage. In 2025, he and Rafael Gil presented the session “How Many Hands Make a Great Idea?”, sharing the story behind “Nigrum Corpus,” which won the Gran Ojo for Print Production, among other honors.
Tomás Ostiglia was named Spain’s Best Creative at El Ojo Local 2024. In 2025, LOLA earned several top honors, including the Gran Ojo for Print with “Unwrap the Summer” for Cornetto and the Gran Ojo for Film with “Sweeter Than the Sweetest” for Axe/Lynx.
Daro González was recognized as Argentina’s Best Creative in 2025 alongside Rafa Quijano, the same year VML was named Argentina’s Best Agency.
Aldo (Coco) Ramírez assumes his jury leadership role after “Gulf of México,” created for Tecate, won three Gran Ojos in 2025.
Gian Carlo Lanfranco’s relationship with El Ojo spans more than two decades. In 2005, alongside Rolando Córdova, he won the festival’s New Talents Competition. Today, the pair leads independent agency L&C, which has earned international acclaim, including being named Cannes Lions Independent Agency of the Year – Good Track 2025 and Cannes Lions Independent Network of the Year 2025.
Categories for the 29th edition include Film, Print, Radio & Audio, Outdoor, Digital & Social, Media, Direct, Brand Experience & Activation, PR, Design, Sustainable, Sports, Content, El Tercer Ojo, Innovation, Creative Data, Creative Commerce, Effectiveness, Creative Business Transformation, Health & Pharma, Best Latin Idea for the World, Audiovisual Production, New Directors, Audio & Sound Production, Print Production, El Ojo +Women (Creatives and Directors), and the El Ojo Local Best Country Idea Award.
Final Registration Deadlines Approach
Alongside the announcement of the first Jury Presidents, El Ojo 2026 has entered a new phase of submissions.
The next deadline is September 15, the final day to register at the Pre-Closing rate. The final submission deadline is September 30.
Save the Date
El Ojo de Iberoamérica International Festival 2026
Venue: La Rural Convention Center, Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dates: November 11–13, 2026
Submission Deadline: September 30, 2026
Pre-Closing Rate Deadline: September 15, 2026
More information and submissions: https://inscripcion.elojodeiberoamerica.com/