Cannes Lions names Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen as inaugural Creative Champion of the Year

THE CANNES Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that Shantanu Narayen, chair and CEO, Adobe, will be its inaugural Creative Champion of the Year. The new Award is given to individuals and organisations “in recognition of their contribution to providing creative people with the tools to truly express themselves”.

Lions chair Philip Thomas, said: “While human imagination is almost boundless, turning visionary ideas into reality depends on partners who provide innovative tools, cutting-edge technologies and bold collaborations. This new honour is dedicated to individuals or organisations that have profoundly understood and supported the needs of creative people, driving the creative agenda across industries and the globe.”

Under Narayen’s leadership, Adobe has democratised creativity across categories, enabling more creators to advance their craft and accelerate their success through technology. Today, he’s driving the company’s AI agenda, delivering transformative innovations across creativity, productivity and customer experience.

Shantanu Narayen

Narayen said: “It is an honour to be acknowledged by an organisation that has been instrumental in fostering creative excellence for over seven decades. ​This award is a celebration of the incredible team at Adobe whose passion, ingenuity and dedication have enabled us to deliver ground-breaking technology that expands opportunities for more people everywhere to bring their creativity to life.”

Narayen will be presented with The Creative Champion of the Year Award during the Awards Show on the evening of Tuesday, June 17. Following this, he will give a keynote address on the Debussy Theatre stage during the day on Wednesday, June 18.