Eka Ruola – Newest Member of the Golden Drum Hall of Fame

Eka Ruola, Chief Creative Officer and Chairman of Nitro Group Finland, is the newest member of the Golden Drum Hall of Fame, selected group of visionaries and dreamers who have fought courageously and passionately for the progress of the creative industry and beyond.

Established in 2010, Hall of Fame celebrates those who have, through their professional career and personal life, influenced our creative minds and souls. Creative leaders who have inspired and motivated us, and who now guide us to move forward in our endeavors.

“I’m extremely happy, humbled, and proud to have been inducted to the Hall of Fame of Golden Drum. This festival truly has a unique soft spot in my heart. My first ever international jury duty happened there and over the years Golden Drum has remained close by in many ways.

Eka Ruola, Nitro Group:

Golden Drum gathers people together from a region with very similar challenges cross countries. We always happen to find a magical togetherness both with the delegates and the wonderful professionals of the festival itself. It has always been very special. Golden Drum’s passion for creativity in all its forms and the cultivation of this industry has always been very appealing to me.

This nomination is a tremendous honour. The people in the Hall of Fame are truly exceptional with outstanding career journeys. Naturally, what makes this very emotional for me, is to join there with my former Chairman, the late Ami Hasan, the giant on whose shoulders I had the privilege to stand on for many years.”

Throughout his career, Eka has demonstrated significant support for the industry and has shown great leadership. With the aim of making a significant contribution to the development of the industry and the wider society as well, he has always placed creativity in the forefront.

He has been a valued mentor for many young creatives who have entered the advertising industry. His passion is to build a strong next generation of creatives who will not only strive to be the best creatives, but will understand also the importance of the strategic business side.

The Golden Drum Festival has a special place in Eka’s heart. Throughout his career, he has sat in the jury and been a speaker twice. He has won a Grand Prix and multiple Gold and Silver Drums. In the last year, Eka has also helped shape the B2B group in the Creative Business Excellence section of the festival’s competition.

Eka is one of the most awarded Finnish creative directors – both on the national and international level. His work has been awarded in all the major award shows including Golden Drum, Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, The One Show, LIA, and Effie’s.

He is a frequent jury member and speaker in the industry events around the world. In 2015 Ruola was awarded with The Internationalist’s Agency Innovator Award in New York. Last year Ruola was awarded with the Platinum Award by Grafia in Finland, which is the most prestigious lifetime achievement award in the country for exceptional work within the creative industry.

Eka is known for his long tenure at the helm of hasan & partners group, a 30-year old creative powerhouse in the Nordics. He left the agency in 2020 and bought the majority share of a Finnish hybrid agency Nitro Group and returned to the creative business arena in April 2021.

Recently Eka also wrote his first marketing book, The New 4 P’s of Marketing, which was published by Alma Talent in May 2021.

Established in 2010, the Golden Drum Hall of Fame virtual wall reads the names of great women and men. The list grows with careful consideration and a sense of gratefulness to those, whose names and actions we should never forget. Each new member needs to be confirmed and accepted into the Hall of Fame by the existing members.

Members of the Golden Drum Hall of Fame until today, ranked alphabetically: Jure Apih, Adrian Botan, Farid Chehab, Michael Conrad, Ivan Čimburov, Meta Dobnikar, Catalin Dobre, Dushan Drakalski, Csaba Gosztonyi, Andrey Gubaydullin, Ami Hasan, Mariusz Jan Demner, Jaime Mandelbaum, Jiri Mikeš, Juli Nemes, Johannes Newrkla, Günseli Özen, Milka Pogliani, Ulrich Proeschel, Jorg Riommi, Jason Romeyko, Eka Ruola, Daniel Ružička, Dragan Sakan, Juraj Vaculik, Vital Verlič, Jarek Ziebinski and Darek Zatorski.

Golden Drum Festival will be held from 9 to 10 October 2024 in Grand Hotel Bernardin, Portorož, Slovenia. Golden Drum Competition is open for entries.