MUMBAI: This year, New York Festivals World's Best Radio Programs competition revealed two prominent names from the radio industry – UK based TBI Media's founding director Phil Critchlow and US based Geller Media president Valerie Geller. Both of them have been appointed to the New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards advisory board and grand jury.

Critchlow served as chair of The UK Radio Independents Group (RIG) and is a fellow of the Radio Academy. He is responsible for supervising various outputs from TBI which has earned over 50 awards in the UK and internationally for radio and television. TBI Media produces many programmes each year for the BBC and commercial broadcasters, as well as digital content and events for major brands in and out of the UK. "We have been lucky enough to win a number of New York Festivals awards at TBI which always mean a great deal to the team, so I am delighted to become part of the NYF Advisory Board," said Critchlow.

Meanwhile, Geller is a story consultant, trainer and seminar leader. She has trained radio, TV and internet broadcasters in 35 countries and 500 international radio and television stations, coaching air personalities, programmers, producers and broadcast news journalists to become more powerful communicators. She is among the 50 most powerful women in radio, according to Radio Ink Magazine and has received the Conclave's highest honour for broadcasting. "It is stunning and so satisfying on every level to have the opportunity and honour to have the chance to hear the amazing work news, documentary and program teams throughout the world are producing and creating," said Geller.

"These two thought leaders each bring creative expertise and deep knowledge of today's radio industry," said NYF Radio Program Awards executive director Rose Anderson.

The deadline for entering the 2015 World's Best Radio Programs competition is 19 March, 2015.