Ethical, transparent, and respected, the awards are judged by esteemed industry experts who follow a robust two-step judging process that includes pre-scoring to establish a shortlist and a judge discussion to determine winners and, in some cases, silver awards.
None of our award judges can take part in the competition, and any conflicts of interest must be declared.
The UK Digital Excellence Awards have been accredited ‘Outstanding’ by the Independent Awards Standards Council – Awards Trust Mark.
To apply to become a judge, fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
Aditya Patil is a seasoned data scientist with a rich background in developing AI-driven solutions and scalable data infrastructure. Currently at Apple, he leads initiatives focused on building applications powered by large language models, while optimizing data pipelines and APIs to support global operations. With prior experience at Wayfair, he implemented innovative machine learning models like Siamese neural networks for texture recognition, significantly enhancing product matching systems. Aditya’s professional journey began with roles in product management and analytics at InCred and Housing.com, where he led data-driven product launches and predictive modeling for revenue and user behavior. He holds a Master’s in Information Systems and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Bombay, consistently demonstrating a strong analytical foundation and a passion for impactful technological innovation.
Alan Pilkington | CEO | The Digital Facilitators
Alan Pilkington is an accomplished digital strategist and eCommerce specialist with extensive experience helping businesses unlock their online potential. As the CEO of The Digital Facilitators, he bridges the gap between brands and the technology, agencies, and solutions they need to succeed in today’s competitive landscape. In addition to leading digital transformation initiatives, Alan’s passion for new business development and process optimization has enabled him to support a wide range of global eCommerce ventures. His keen insight into emerging trends, combined with a commitment to delivering tangible results, makes him a valued judge for digital awards that celebrate innovation and excellence in the online space.
Andor Palau | International SEO Consultant |
Andor Palau is an International SEO & AI Search Consultant and Ambassador for Majestic & Oncrawl based in Berlin, Germany. He started his online career in 2009. Having worked both in-house and on the agency side, he now advises SaaS companies, online shops, classifiers, marketplaces, and other businesses on international organic growth strategies for Google and AI-driven systems, as well as on technical SEO challenges, as an independent consultant. He is the former Head of SEO at Peak Ace, where he was responsible for SEO strategy and led a team of more than 20 SEO consultants and editors. Before moving to the agency side, Andor worked as an in-house SEO for a top-three comparison portal in highly competitive verticals such as insurance, energy, and telecommunications. His core expertise is strategic and technical SEO, including crawlability, indexing management, site migrations, and site structure optimization.
Andy Green | Co-founder | AndyGreenCreativity
Andy is a co-founder of the Dublin Conversations, a non-commercial initiative which is co-creating new thinking and doing to transform communications industries’ practice. He has run pilot trials around the globe on new programmes to enable individuals, teams, and organisations to identify their character and purpose, which will be freely shared when launched this year. Andy has written six books, translated into eight languages on purpose, creativity, social capital, organisational change, and creativity. His wrote book, ‘Creativity in Public Relations’, was the first in the world on the subject and he continues to be at the forefront of new thinking and doing. Andy is a working practitioner and academic teaching innovation, communications and public relations at several universities including Boston University. He is co-founder of social enterprise ‘Grow Social Capital’ that is developing new thinking and doing for community activists and how shared social identities can tackle growing social division. Believing we can all gain inspiration from the unlikeliest of sources, Andy even runs creativity classes on the London Tube.
Bethany Weatherhead | SEO Specialist | Ruddy Duck Digital
I am the Director and SEO Specialist at Ruddy Duck Digital LTD, a UK-based SEO company helping businesses and individuals with their SEO strategies and providing training. With over 10 years of experience in SEO and marketing, I have worked in agency and in-house roles, leading strategies for brands including finance, retail, health and technology.
Chelsea Jarvis | Head of Digital & Creative | Bidwells
Chelsea Jarvis is Head of Digital & Creative and a Departmental Partner at Bidwells, leading digital transformation, website strategy, and content innovation across the real estate and professional services sectors. The Bidwells team has earned multiple industry awards, including recognition at the Property Marketing Awards, B2B Marketing Awards, and The Drum Awards. Passionate about innovation and measurable results, Chelsea regularly speaks at industry events, shaping the future of digital content and brand engagement.
Dan Barker | eCommerce, Digital Marketing and Analytics Consultant |
Dan has worked in ecommerce for around 20 years. He has worked within companies in ecommerce functions, up to CMO level, has worked on projects for more than 100 ecommerce businesses as a consultant, and has co-owned a couple of ecommerce businesses with millions of visitors and hundreds of millions of turnover between them over the years. He enjoys the opportunity that ecommerce has brought and can bring to people all over the world.
Daniel Saunders | Head of Performance Marketing | Evergreen Finance London Ltd
I've worked in Digital for 18 years. Within Digital marketing I work closely with the directors and heads of service to identify new business opportunities and Strategies. Having an in-depth understanding of different markets and competitors in the area to maintain a competitive advantage which is used to work alongside key stakeholders in managing the translation of the business strategy into clear plans. Proactively researching markets, competitors within different regions and establishing ways to develop a competitive advantage within our strategies. Within Stanley Black and Decker, I am a catalyst for change, I plan and execute UK market E-commerce and digital marketing activities to increase sales, grow online channels, and grow new and existing online customers managing substantial 6 figures budgets over many different groups. As an international keynote speaker in the Digital sphere, I inspire and lead a large team of specialists, drive the delivery of brilliant digital products and services, mentoring at levels from executives to C suite. I utilize analytics and insight tools to evaluate end-to-end customer experience across multiple customer touch points. Working with trade marketing teams to analyse product categories and make appropriate product mix recommendations and effectively contributes to SEO, PPC, UX and CRO. I have built, nurtured and lead a diverse, multidisciplinary team to deliver digital transformation across the Stanley Black and Decker group. Defining the required digital capabilities across our people, their processes, and the technology we use. With Stanley Black and Decker being a multinational corporation, I make myself a visible leader by holding regular lectures and Q and A sessions with entry executives all the way up to C suite teams.
Davina Lines | Managing Director | Ecommerce Club
Davina Lines is Managing Director of Mixing Digital and the Ecommerce Club. She brings a wealth of knowledge and a big black book of digital contacts to ensure Mixing Digital’s event management services are of the highest standard. Davina co-founded Netimperative in 1999 and became Managing Director in 2002, stewarding the brand into new product launches and creating one of the most successful events programmes in the digital marketing industry. In the mid 90s Davina cut her digital teeth on New Media Age (now Econsultancy), forming part of the founding team and was responsible for the commercial development of the magazine and its early events from launch in May 1995 to 1999. In recent years Davina launched an ecommerce peer-to-peer community, the Ecommerce Club, which runs regular events in London and Manchester on topics relevant to the retail community.
Dee Cowburn | Crisis Communications Consultant |
Dee Cowburn is a communications specialist and media advisor with nearly two decades of experience in high risk political environments. She runs her own communications consultancy, Dee Cowburn Communications Ltd, specialising in crisis communications, reputation, risk and political management, media relations and training. Her work has involved working internationally providing advice and training on policing communications. Dee previously led the policing and crime communications function for the Mayor of West Yorkshire and the former Police and Crime Commissioner, and before that, was an investigative journalist, specialising in health, crime and politics. She set up the press function for the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and advised on international high profile stories, including the murder of an MP in West Yorkshire, a teacher killed in her classroom, and a police officer shot as they carried out routine inquiries. Priorities around communication included Violence Against Women and Girls, knife crime, modern slavery, and Child Sexual Exploitation. As an investigative journalist in Coventry, Jersey, and Yorkshire, her reporting led to an independent inquiry and changes within the health system in Jersey. A trustee of Rett UK, Dee also works with Together for Short Lives and is passionate about supporting charities to raise awareness of vital causes, involving children with life limiting conditions. Dee’s daughter Tilly has Rett Syndrome and since her diagnosis, she has supported charities of all shapes and sizes with their messaging and communications, including crisis communications, and crafting meaningful and purposeful content.
Emily Hill | PR & Content Specialist | Mortgage Advice Bureau
With a degree in English Literature from the University of Leeds and a Masters in Magazine Journalism from Nottingham Trent University, I’ve built my career in journalism, PR, and communications over the last eight years across both B2B and B2C. I'm currently working as PR & Content Specialist for Mortgage Advice Bureau, the UK’s leading mortgage intermediary brand. No matter the platform and audience, I'm passionate about conveying a brand's key messaging through thought-provoking and innovative content. I have a proven track record of developing and executing high-impact PR campaigns that drive engagement and significantly build brand awareness.
Gerry White | SEO Consultant | Dergal
Gerry White has been in the industry for 20+ years, with a background in development he transitioned to technical marketing leading on SEO, analytics and digital growth strategies for companies, agencies, the government and corporations such as the BBC. In the past few years Gerry has spoken at conferences around the globe including Paris, Germany, USA and of course the UK. Gerry was the Technical SEO Lead for Just Eat a FTSE 100 company in 12 markets as well as consulting for other e-commerce brands. Gerry was the SEO Director for Rise at Seven from 2020 to 2021 when they grew from 15 to 115 people before returning client side as the head of SEO at Oda an international supermarket.
Gianluca Fiorelli | SEO & Web Marketing Strategist |
Gianluca Fiorelli started working as an SEO in 2004, after previously having worked in the Italian TV and Audiovisual industry. Amongst the best known International and Strategic SEO consultants, Gianluca helps and helped brands like Iberostar.com, Glassdoor, Outsystems, ActivTrades, Magoosh, Go Overseas and many others to reach the sought success in organic search. Gianluca, who is also the founder of The Inbounder digital marketing conference, spoke at international events like Mozcon, BrightonSEO, SMX, and PubCon. You can find Gianluca on Twitter as gfiorelli1 (https://twitter.com/gfiorelli1) or contacting him at https://www.iloveseo.net.
Jaime Hill | Ecommerce Director | ex Oak Furnitureland, Hurtigruten & Monsoon Accessorize
Jaime has over two decades of experience as a Marketing & Ecommerce professional with a successful track record leading teams and developing strategy to transform organisations’ digital capability and channels to market. She has had success in roles at brands including Avis, Barclays, Dairy Crest and Oak Furnitureland, and across a wide range of B2B and B2C vertical markets. Most recently, Jaime was Interim Head of Ecommerce & Trading at Monsoon. A graduate of the Institute of Digital Marketing and qualified Executive Business Coach, Jaime's professional passion is for making life easier for the customer at every touch point.
Lukasz Rogala | Head of SEO & Strategy | VerticalSEO
During his 13-year adventure in the SEO industry, he learned all the "shades" of activities carried out for clients. Knowledge of how to work in-house and in an agency allows him to provide high-quality and non-standard tactics for clients. Currently, he is developing his boutique SEO and Content agency, VerticalSEO, and is responsible for technical SEO for Warner Bros. Discovery in Poland. In the past, he planned and implemented SEO activities for the largest brands in Poland, and also supported them in their activities abroad. He prefers content SEO for breakfast, technical SEO for lunch, and linkbuilding for dinner. This allows him to maintain a good work-life fit.
Lukasz Zelezny, UK Search Awards judge, Top10 UK Social Media influencer and former director of organic performance at uSwitch / Zoopla. Currently is working as an independent SEO Consultant helping in organic traffic acquisition, technical SEO and content marketing. Lukasz started his career in 2005 and has since been responsible for the organic performance of a number of companies including HomeAway, Thomson Reuters, The Digital Property Group, Fleetway Travel, uSwitch, Zoopla. Each year Lukasz is speaking at many SEO and social media conferences. He was a speaker at ClickZ Shanghai China, ClickZ Jakarta Indonesia, SiMGA Malta, SES London as well as Marketing Festival in Brno, Brighton SEO in Brighton and UnGagged in London. Every year he is actively participating in 10 to 20 events as an SEO/Social Media keynote speaker. Additionally, he organizes workshops and meetups where he is sharing tips around SEO, Social Media and Analytics.
Matt Kohli | Director | Fortitude Marketing
Matt Kohli is the Director of Fortitude Marketing. He holds a First Class BSc (Hons) in Digital Marketing from the University of Derby and is CMI and CIM accredited. Matt began his career in Technical SEO, working with award-winning agencies and in-house brands. Now, he leads a talented team at Fortitude Marketing, delivering results across SEO, PPC, CRO, and Branding. He has been featured on industry podcasts and regularly attends UK SEO events.
Michele Tommasi | Senior Paid Media Manager | Tempcover
I am a Senior Paid Media Manager at Tempcover with nearly a decade of experience in paid and performance marketing. My journey has been marked by a relentless commitment to add value and provide the most profitable outcome for all. I have collaborated with a wealth of prominent national and global brands across a range of sectors. From SaaS, insurance and automotive to construction, travel and e-commerce, I've thrived in both B2C and B2B industries and have an extensive cross-sector knowledge, winning awards such as “Local Campaign Of The Year”, “Best Local Campaign (PPC)” and “YouTube Ads Leaderboard”. At heart, I am passionate about inspiring, leading and helping people to achieve their personal and professional goals, whatever they might be.
Nicola Morkel | Head of Digital | Regal
Nicola Morkel is a seasoned digital leader with expertise in inbound marketing and consumer-focused social media strategies across APAC, MENA, and UK markets. As Head of Digital at Regal London, she focuses on optimising campaigns to operate as lean machines—cutting costs while driving quality and fostering an organic social media brand culture. Her efforts have delivered impressive results, including reducing meta campaign CPLs by over 30% while improving conversion rates. She has also led major rebranding projects and introduced digital tools tailored to the real estate industry to enhance the virtual experience for international buyers. Having lived and worked in multiple markets, Nicola brings valuable cultural insight to create strategies that resonate globally. Passionate about digitising real estate and navigating the complex lead journey for high-value goods, she combines strategic thinking with a hands-on approach. Her expertise includes implementing attribution models and leveraging advanced CRM systems to optimise communication and marketing efforts. Featured in major publications like The Telegraph for her insights on real estate marketing, Nicola holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing from the University of Cape Town and advanced training in Digital Product Management from Boston University and MIT. Her proven track record makes her an ideal judge for social media awards.
Nicolas Monti-Potsolakis | International SEO Consultant | NMP Consulting
Nicolas is an International SEO Consultant. He is a self made person and has worked as Events Manager, MarTech Specialist and jack-of-all-trades digital marketing specialist before naming SEO his true calling. He has been around SEO since 2009 and founded Black Lantern Marketing and NMP Consulting in 2018. He has worked with multiple Enterprises in the eCommerce, Fashion, Hospitality, Education, Insurance, Health and iGaming sectors. He is also an SEO Instructor for Epsilon College and coaches Business Owners on SEO and how it brings value to their business. And he is co-founder of TAO Rodina, an import-export company of goods from Indonesia. He holds an MBA, an MSc in Digital Marketing and a BA in Marketing Management from the University of East London. He is originally from Greece and Italy but lives in Prague with his family.
Olivia Townsend | Head of Content | HETT
Olivia Townsend is an award-winning Head of Content and Research with over eight years of experience in communications, stakeholder engagement, and event management. With a strong focus on leading high-performing teams, Olivia has a proven ability to craft and execute impactful strategies that resonate with diverse audiences across a wide range of sectors. Currently, as Head of Content and Research for the Healthcare Portfolio at GovNet, Olivia leads research, campaigns, and content development aimed at advancing technological innovations in the health and care sector. She brings deep expertise in medical, data, and technology topics, creating compelling narratives while fostering key relationships with media outlets, government bodies, and the NHS. Before joining GovNet, Olivia was Content Manager at The Institute of Government and Public Policy, where she spearheaded the development of content strategies to inform and support the public sector and engage the general public. Recently, she was recognized as a trailblazer in her field, earning a spot on the EN 30Under30 list.
Philip Bacon | Marketing Director, Strategist, and Consultant | Marketing Managed
I'm a marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience spanning in-house roles, agency collaborations, and consultancy. My career has taken me across diverse sectors, including education, food, technology, engineering, and manufacturing, where I’ve been involved in almost every aspect and channel in marketing, whether that has been hands-on or managing multiple agency and freelance relationships. Before founding Bacon Marketing in 2020, now Marketing Managed, I've worked in senior marketing roles for various companies, both in-house and agency-side. These roles allowed me to hone my skills in campaign execution, lead generation, and strategic planning. Over the years, I’ve led high-stakes marketing initiatives, including complex multi-product and brand launches, digital marketing transformations, and multi-channel campaigns that have consistently delivered results. My early career gave me valuable experience in managing complex marketing operations, working with multi-disciplinary teams, and building strategies for businesses aiming to grow. Whether it was coordinating large-scale campaigns for industry leaders or scrapy startups, I’ve always approached challenges with a focus on innovation and results. Over the last 5 years, I’ve channelled my experience into building a four-stage marketing process that’s helped clients achieve measurable success. I’ve executed thousands of campaigns, from raising brand awareness to delivering exceptional ROI, and I’ve shared my expertise with the broader marketing community through podcasts, webinars, and industry discussions. When I’m not working on campaigns or consulting with clients, I'm probably spending time with my family, building Lego, or crafting something tasty in the kitchen.
Rachel Letham | Head of Brand & Communications | The Marketing Society
Rachel Letham is Head of Brand and Communications at The Marketing Society, leading strategic brand development and integrated communications for the global membership organisation. With over 20 years of experience, she combines commercial expertise with creative vision to transform organisations through innovative content strategies while serving as a key member of the Leadership Team. Alongside her corporate role, Rachel is a certified positive mindset coach, working with global organisations including Google and Target. Drawing from her experience of near-burnout in the fresh produce industry, she helps both individuals and organisations align strategic goals with purposeful vision-setting. Her work demonstrates the power of combining strategic brand thinking with positive mindset techniques to drive organisational success.
Rejoice Ojiaku | SEO Manager | Nelson Bostock UNLIMITED
Rejoice has worked within digital marketing (SEO) for 4+ years. After finishing her master’s degree in marketing at The University of Manchester, she started her journey as a Junior SEO Executive and is now an SEO Manager as well as the Co-Founder & Content Lead for B-DigitalUK. She specialises in Content SEO and she has spoken at BrightonSEO, Whitespark Local Search Summit as well as participated in webinars for FounderVine, Majestic, Noisy Little Monkey etc. Additionally, she is also an Award-Winning Diversity & Inclusion Advocate as she is passionate about Diversity & Inclusion within the workplace to ensure the perspective and struggles of Black people are heard.
Sarah Cook | Head of Content |
Sarah has worked in communications for over 15 years: both in-house and for agencies. Most recently, she's been responsible for brand campaigns and content in the Group brand team at Legal & General. Before this, she worked at an international law firm, leading their social media strategy and started her career as a communications consultant, working at PR agencies in London.
Sharon Peredo Sahid | Digital Experience Optimization Consultant |
a marketer, strategist, and SEO enthusiast with expertise in website optimization. Sharon has worked across diverse markets and niches, enhancing customer experiences, acquisition funnels, and conversion rates. Passionate about helping brands elevate their visibility, positioning, and USPs across search engines and LLMs, she’s also deeply curious about AI-driven strategies and experimentation frameworks.
Simon Howland | Principle Consultant |
Simon is an independent consultant, qualified scuba diver, sailor and aspiring badminton player. When not at sea or on a court he works with ambitious companies wanting to understand, shape and accelerate their online performance. With 20+ years experience across multiple industries and sectors, he has developed a fresh and unique approach to delivering impressive commercial results focussed on the things that really matter, avoiding wasting time and budgets by developing better working practices across people, technology and strategy. Not afraid to make tough decisions backed by data and experience, and with an extensive network of digital professionals to call on, he is well positioned to help even the most ambitious clients succeed.
Steve Kuncewicz | PARTNER - HEAD OF CREATIVE, DIGITAL & MARKETING | Glaisyers ETL
Steve is a Partner and Head of Creative, Digital and Marketing at Glaisyers ETL in Manchester. He specialises in intellectual property, media social media and privacy law and is listed as a "recommended lawyer" in the Legal 500, and was a oo-founder pf the Bulletproof Agency Network. He is a regular media spokesperson, and has given interviews to the local and national press through BBC Breakfast, Sky News, ITV, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live and LBC London. Steve is also the Manchester Publicity Association’s Honorary Solicitor.
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Winning our first award would be a real milestone moment, and something we will always remember. It’s a great testament to the hard work and energy that the team has put into Hookflash since its inception, and something we’d add to our new office mantelpiece with pride! Hook Flash
Knowing the joint effort behind the scenes that goes into each and every single piece of content that comes out of Spinnaker, and then seeing this validated with an award nomination, is hugely rewarding. A true recognition of the hard work of many strategists, creatives, producers and account handlers. Spinnaker
Having this fantastic yet unusual project recognised by the UK Digital Excellence Awards means so much to us and Satellogic. Not only does it demonstrate the brilliant results that are possible if you apply the right strategy with the right creative, but it showcases how diverse digital advertising can be. It’s not just for the big retailers. Any business can thrive from it. We’d like to thank the UK Digital Excellence Awards for shortlisting us. We already feel like winners. Fluid Ads
Team Flip are delighted that our all-in-one employee app has been shortlisted for Best Platform at the UK Digital Excellence Awards. This recognition is a real milestone in our ongoing journey as we scale Flip’s huge successes to the UK and beyond. Flip
Being nominated for this prestigious award is a profound honour that highlights our team’s unwavering dedication to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in digital transformation. It serves as a powerful validation of our strategic vision to seamlessly integrate digital technologies across borders, making a tangible difference in the way businesses operate globally. Hubpy.co
We’re honoured to have won ‘Agency of the Year’ at the UK Digital Excellence Award. To me, this achievement is a testament to the combined efforts of our incredible team to continue making Bind Media a fantastic place to grow your career and deliver exceptional results for our clients. Bind Media
The entry process for the UK Digital Excellence Awards has been a seamless experience from start to finish. The team at Don’t Panic were helpful and responsive, making the entire process smooth and stress-free. The online entry portal was straightforward and intuitive, allowing us to submit our application with ease. Communication throughout has been clear, timely and professional – we always knew exactly what was needed and when. It’s been a really positive experience, and we’d highly recommend taking part to any organisation considering entering.Laurena McKenna PR and Communications Manager Coats Digital
