The 2026 Australia and New Zealand Creator Impact Awards · Presented by Hnry
The Judging Panel
An independent panel from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand reviews every nomination and selects the twelve Impact Nominees. Chaired by Carsten Grueber, with Louis Davis and Natalie Robinson as advisory panellists.
Chair
Carsten Grueber
Chair of the panel · Aotearoa New Zealand
Carsten has spent 20+ years in senior commercial leadership at Google, Meta and TikTok, including as Country Manager of TikTok New Zealand. He is Principal of CG Consulting in Auckland and chairs the Creator Impact Awards judging panel.
The panel
Tom Forrest
Outback Tom · Australia
A Yorta Yorta man raised in the East Kimberley, Tom is a journalist and creator. He makes Outback Tom with his grandfather on TikTok and Instagram: life out bush, outback cooking and yarns. He started on ABC ME’s My Year 12 Life and went on to his own iview series, The Kununurra Kid.
Stacey Morrison
Broadcaster and author · Aotearoa New Zealand
Stacey is a broadcaster, author and champion of te reo Māori. She learned te reo as an adult and has co-written a series of bestselling books that help people bring it into everyday life, including Māori at Home and Māori at Work.
John Pabon
Sustainability adviser and author · Australia
John is a sustainability adviser and author based in Melbourne. A former United Nations staffer, he has also worked with McKinsey and BSR, and founded Fulcrum Strategic Advisors. He chairs The Conference Board’s Asia and ANZ Sustainability Leaders Councils, and is the author of three books, including The Great Greenwashing: How Brands, Governments, and Influencers are Lying to You.
Thomas “Tomi” Grainger
Head of Social & Content Strategy, Fortem Media · Australia
Tomi spent 4 years inside of TikTok leading creator community engagement as one of the platform’s first hires in Australia. He’s spent more than 15 years working across social & content, including Group Social and Influencer Director at WPP Influence. He’s independently managed some of the country’s biggest creators, led TikTok’s creator camp and DEI initiatives.
Laura Wells
Environmentalist and science communicator · Australia
Laura is a Sydney-based environmentalist, science communicator, presenter and model with degrees in Biology and Law. She has presented science content for National Geographic, hosted a children’s science series on Channel 7 and hosts the sustainability series Planet Shapers. She sits on the national board of Surfrider Foundation Australia and advocates for women in STEM, body positivity, sustainability and media inclusivity.
Taz & Alessia
TikTok LIVE Creators of the Year · Melbourne, Australia
Taz and Alessia are an award-winning Melbourne-based creator couple and business owners who have built a global community of over 1.5 million followers through their entertaining content, authentic storytelling and engaging live-streams.
Recognised as TikTok LIVE Creators of the Year, the duo have turned their passion for content creation into a thriving career, working with some of the world’s biggest brands.
They are also the co-founders of Creators Club Australia, an education and mentorship platform dedicated to helping aspiring creators grow their audiences, work with brands and build sustainable careers in the creator economy.
Advisory panellists
Louis Davis
Advisory panellist · 2025 TikTok Creator of the Year · Aotearoa New Zealand
Louis is a dad and creator whose family content has reached billions of views across a following of more than 3.5 million, and he was named TikTok’s 2025 Creator of the Year. He’s on a mission to tell a story about Māori fatherhood so full of goodness that it washes away the stereotypes that came before him.
Natalie Robinson
Disability inclusion advisor · Aotearoa New Zealand
Natalie is a digital content creator, talent manager, and accessibility advocate. Working across the creative and events industries in Aotearoa, she is dedicated to fostering genuine inclusivity, driving positive change, and ensuring diverse voices and adaptive creators are authentically represented and celebrated across the digital space.
How the panel works
- Every panellist scores each nomination against the same five tests: evidence of change, an authentic connection, cut-through for their audience, durability, and who it served.
- Panellists declare any conflict, and step out of decisions about creators they manage, represent or work with commercially.
- The panel selects the twelve Impact Nominees. Creator of the Year is then decided on the night by an invited list of creators.