APMC Star Awards – Judges

Ian McColl

Ian has been creating customer-winning and award-winning promotional, experiential and direct marketing campaigns for over 30 years.

He managed creative departments in agencies such as Ogilvy, Marketing Network and BBDO Dublin, working closely with clients and cultivating long-lasting relationships based on the consistent delivery of highly effective creative work.

Since 2012 he has been managing therefour, a successful creative co-operative, producing distinctive and memorable brand communication for a wide and diverse range of clients, including Bank of Ireland and Vodafone.

Ian is a big fan of great ideas beautifully executed, irrespective of the communication channel.

We are thrilled that Ian will be judging the 2026 APMC Star Awards, and once again, he’ll be looking out for a lot of creative magic with positive results.

Jimmy Murphy

Jimmy Murphy is one of Ireland’s foremost advertising and communications leaders. He built his career in Ogilvy and TBWA before starting his own agency, The Hive Advertising, in 2006. The Hive was later acquired by Publicis and Jimmy became Chief Growth Officer for the agency. He joined ACNE Dublin (part of Deloitte Digital) as a Director in 2022 where he built out the capability. In 2025 he left Deloitte to develop a new business – Connelly Partners – where he is Deputy Managing Director. Jimmy is a former President of IAPI and former Chair of the Marketing Society.

Mags O’Reilly

Mags is Brand Communications and Sponsorship Manager at An Post, where she leads the development of purpose‑led brand partnerships and integrated communications that connect meaningfully with audiences.

With a dynamic, multi‑channel approach to sponsorship and brand storytelling, Mags focuses on creating cultural relevance through authentic narratives and impactful activations. Her work prioritises long‑term value over short‑term visibility, with partnerships measured against their ability to deliver real social and brand impact.

She has played a central role in evolving the An Post Irish Book Awards into a major cultural platform, championing literacy, inclusion and emerging voices through collaborations with authors, creators and community partners. Passionate about ideas that spark conversation and build trust, Mags brings a thoughtful, effectiveness‑driven perspective to judging, with a strong belief in creativity that delivers measurable outcomes and lasting relevance.

Peter Kerr

Peter is Executive Chairman of Multi Resource Marketing (MRM) who have won awards throughout their 30 year history for their work in CPG’s, Charity and Leisure sectors on behalf of major UK based companies.

Peter has been a Board Director of the IPM since 2000 and held the Chairmanship role for three years. He is a former President of the IMPACT Council, the Promotional Marketing council of EACA. In both of these roles Peter plays a very active part in their respective awards programmes. We are thrilled to be welcoming Peter back for his third year of judging the APMC Star Awards.

“having been involved with award judging for over 20 years I have had the enormous pleasure of seeing the campaign planning of some of our industries finest work, and enjoy immensely when creativity and effectiveness are in perfect congruence”.

Muiris Ó Riada

Muiris has led global turnarounds on some of the biggest brands in spirits. He has a rare combination of global marketing, commercial and board experience, honed across developed, emerging and travel retail markets in Irish and scotch whisky, gin, rum, and tequila.

Muiris is International Marketing Director with Proximo, the world’s largest tequila company, alongside brands like Bushmills Irish Whiskey and Kraken Spiced Rum.

Previously Muiris was Global Brand Director for Hendrick’s Gin, holds a Masters in International Marketing from the Smurfit Business School UCD, and is an alumnus of The Marketing Academy.

Paul Miley

Paul is key to the management of the APMC Star Awards judging. He is a former APMC Board member and Chairman, with enormous experience from both agency and client perspectives. He has facilitated the judging for more than a decade and ensures total anonymity is adhered to while the panel reviews each submission. He is also on hand to resolve any legal or ethical queries that occasionally arise during the process. He contributes a wealth of knowledge, wisdom and understanding to the judging.