The CMA Awards has confirmed its judging panel for 2026, bringing together 22 senior client-side marketing and communications leaders from across the built environment.
Now in its 26th year, the Awards continues with a fully client-side judging panel, ensuring entries are reviewed by experienced professionals responsible for marketing, communications, brand, digital and business growth within their own organisations.
Three new judges join the panel for 2026:
Charlotte Hilton, Senior Digital Marketing & Communications Manager at Sika UK, leads the company’s digital marketing and brings extensive experience in construction marketing, customer insight, digital platforms and AI-driven search.
Penny Howell-Jones, Marketing Director at Siderise, has more than a decade of experience spanning both marketing and product management, and is a strong advocate for aligning marketing activity with wider business strategy and measurable commercial outcomes.
Gareth Osborne, Associate Director – Marketing at Pick Everard, oversees external communications and integrated marketing strategy for the consultancy. His career spans construction materials, distribution and consultancy, including senior marketing roles at Tarmac and Travis Perkins Group.
They join a judging panel that includes senior marketers from organisations including Gleeds, Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland, Knauf, Genuit Group, James Hardie, Tobermore, Barbour ABI, Sika UK, The Encon Group, Etex, Pick Everard and MAD//Fest. View the full judging panel
Judges assess entries against published criteria, with each submission scored against defined and equally weighted measures. Individual judges are allocated to specific categories and only have access to entries within those categories. Conflicts of interest are carefully managed, and all judges agree to confidentiality and conduct requirements before accessing entries.
Judging takes place in two stages. Entries are first reviewed and scored independently online before category judging panels meet to discuss submissions, agree shortlists and select winners. Some categories also include a finalist interview stage.
The CMA Awards team oversees panel composition, category allocations and conflict management to ensure the process remains rigorous, transparent and fair.
For those planning a submission, the published judging criteria provide full visibility of how entries will be assessed and what judges are looking for in a winning entry.
Key dates
- Entry deadline: Friday 11 September
- Shortlist announced: Monday 5 October
- Judging interviews: 14 to 16 October
- Gala Dinner: Thursday 19 November
Start your entry
If you’ve delivered work that has made a measurable difference, now is the time to showcase it. Start your CMA Awards entry today!
