Learn More About the Team

Hossein Farmani

Founder

Hossein Farmani is a creative director, gallerist, exhibition curator, philanthropist and founder and president of the Lucie Awards in New York, International Design Awards, International Photography Awards, Paris Photo Prize, London Creative Awards, Focus on AIDS and Farmani Gallery.

Hossein’s passion for photography has taken him to all corners of the world and he has organized and curated over 200 photographic exhibitions. For the last 20 years he has been lecturing at universities and colleges, sharing his appreciation of photography with the next generation, as well as being a jury at many festivals and awards like Photo Lucida, Photofest, Arles Photo Festival, Yangong Photo Festival and many more.

Hossein also co-founded the Palm Springs Photo Festival, Snap Orlando, Month of Photography Los Angeles, and the Istanbul Photo Festival. In 2014, Hossein spoke at TEDx ChiangMai and again in 2016 at TEDx Bologna, sharing his passion for photography and design.

More recently, Hossein has curated the Global Climate Change Exhibition for the United Nation at the COP21 in Paris, 2015. As a philanthropist and environmental activist; Hossein has lectured in Universities in over 25 cities globally, using his passion for photography & design to highlight important social issues.

Hossein Farmani’s personal collection of contemporary and vintage photography is one of the most important private collections in the United States.

He is the founder of Farmani Group.

Alice Dison

Director - Lucie Foundation

Alice Dison is a graduate from International Center of Photography photojournalism program in New York. She has recently been named Director for the Lucie Foundation. Prior to the Lucie Foundation, Alice has most recently worked for art fair organizations including Art Los Angeles Contemporary and Paris Photo Los Angeles. She is director for The Lucie Photo Book Prize and The Lucie Technical Awards, as well as director for the House Of Lucie gallery located in downtown Los Angeles.

Aline Martins dos Anjos

Customer Support - Farmani Group

Graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from the Federal University of Ouro Preto, in Brazil, and currently doing a master's degree in Architecture at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Aline has a background in lighting design and interior design.

Aline joined Farmani group in early 2020, as Customer Support Specialist in almost all competitions, providing assistance to the customers.

Anett Varga

Social Media Assistant - Farmani Group

Graduated in Communications and Media Science at Corvinus University of Budapest, in Hungary. Anett has a background in project management, as she has been volunteering at the Hungarian Scout Association for nearly 10 years, and gained experience in community management while working on her passion project regarding period poverty in Hungary.

Anett joined the Farmani Group in 2021, as a Social Media Assistant, working on the social media platforms of several competitions.

Aurélie Bonnet

Marketing Assistant - Farmani Group

Aurélie joined the Farmani Group in 2016, as part of the Customer Support team for the American Architecture Prize (now the Architecture MasterPrize). Since then, her role has evolved to handling the support, as well as marketing-related tasks for all awards. She now manages the AMP, C2A and INT, while still working on IPA and Px3.

After living in several countries around the world (Canada, Australia, Thailand, Portugal), Aurélie came back to France in 2021 to give birth to her daughter Ailsa, getting married to the soon-to-be-famous Scottish writer Alexander M Crow, and moving to a house in the mountains near her birth-city of Grenoble, all within 6 months. It’s a big world out there and more travel adventures are definitely planned.

David Teravagimov

Program Director - Architecture MasterPrize

David overviews marketing related activities of the Farmani Group, including all projects, and new business development. He has a MA in Social Sciences (with Honours) from the University of Glasgow, and spent a year at the University of Miami Business School.

David gained marketing experience working in a media agency in New York City, and in 2014 he joined the Farmani Group as Head of Marketing. Under his supervision the company grew threefold. Since July 2018, David has taken the Program Director role for the Architecture MasterPrize.

Flóra Endrédi

Marketing Assistant - Farmani Group

Flóra holds a degree in Media and Communications from ELTE and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Business IT at Budapest Business School. With a background in social media management, program coordination, and translation, she possesses versatile skills across various subjects and domains.

Flóra joined Farmani Group as a Marketing Assistant in early 2022, working on numerous of the company's competitions.

Hannah Lillethun

General Manager – Farmani Group
Program Director – Design and Photography Awards

Hannah Lillethun comes from a diverse and multi-cultural background. Born in Norway in 1976, she moved to India with her family at the age of 5 spent the next 35 years living in Asia. She has worked with several international non-profit organizations throughout her professional career, developing diverse programs for social improvement.

For the past 10 years Hannah has been helping to lead the Farmani Group as Program Director of the company’s prestigious international design and photography awards – executing the annual awards programs, coordinating jury panels on international platforms, planning events and exhibitions around the world, and more. She is passionate about promoting and celebrating creativity across all disciplines and in all aspects of society.

Jenny Cullera

Social Media Assistant - Farmani Group

Jenny is 30 years old and has lived in Thailand for 12 years. She is originally from the Phillipines where she completed high school and went on to study computer science. Realising her real passion was helping people she switched her degree course and studied Primacare.

She has a strong work ethic and through her love of helping others ended up working as the customer service and support manager at Hope Rehab Unit in Chonburi an international drug rehabilitation unit for 3 years where she was an important member of staff ensuring the smooth running of Hope and the welfare of the clients by liaising with Senior management, Thai staff and the western clients.

Fluent in Tagalog, Thai and English she is a very vesatile and a valued member of any team.

Jill Grinda

Vice President - Farmani Group

Jill is an accomplished entrepreneurial professional with more than twenty years global experience in business development for leading multinational media and entertainment brands including Bloomberg, CNBC, Al Jazeera, Euronews and Reuters. Jill is based in London and formerly lived in Paris for sixteen years and then spent six years in Hong Kong where for part of that time she was Executive Director of fashion NGO Redress which organises the world's largest sustainable fashion design competition. Her roots are in fashion and she spent five years in the early part of her career working for the Australian Wool Corporation organising an Australian fashion design competition called the Young Designer Awards.

Jill joined the Farmani Group in 2020 as VP Marketing and Business Development for the IDA Awards.

Juan Armendariz

Graphic Designer - Lucie Foundation

Juan Armendaris has been doing graphic design for over 20 years. His studies focused on Art and Graphic Design at West Los Angeles College and Los Angeles College.

Juan’s current work for the Farmani Group includes: print design and graphic support for competition programs in the form of annual programs, presentation pieces, signage and exhibition pieces, social media graphics, and general graphic support.

Kinga Visnyei

Customer Support - Farmani Group

Nichol Kong

Official Hong Kong Representative

Nichol Kong is a graduate from Central Saint Martins, The University of Arts London and The University of Hong Kong with a Master Degree in Art & Cultural Enterprise and Master Degree in Media, Culture & Creative Cities.

Nichol has been working in design and art curation since her graduation. She has curated a very successful city-wide design events that features inspirational young designers and celebrates creative ventures. She has been heavily involved in the art & design projects in HK, London, New York and Singapore. Her curatorial works including art tours and art fairs, local and international design exhibitions , and city-wide culture projects with the objective to revitalise ageing communities.

Nichol is currently based in Hong Kong, her strong education background combines her root connection with South East Asia, always gives her a unique perspectives in art & culture endeavour.

Pamela Patalinghug

Accounting - Farmani Group

Pamela F. Patalinghug is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Commerce Major in Accounting at the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines. Pamela joined the Farmani Group in October 1995 and has been the Bookkeeper/Accountant for over 20 years. She currently works as such under the International Awards Inc. and the Lucie Awards. She performs weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual accounting activities as well as manages all online payment orders and inquiries across the Farmani Group.

Sergio Villamil Forero

Video Editor, Social Media Manager - Farmani Group

Veronika Villamil-Treit

Marketing Director - Farmani Group

Graduated from EAE Business School in Barcelona with a Master Degree in Marketing and Sales, Veronika has been working with private clients across the world for the last seven years, helping them build their brand and social marketing strategy.

Veronika joined Farmani Group in 2020.