Leadership in the spotlight
- Jun 21
- 2 min read
A key fixture across the Festival week is CMOs in the Spotlight, which brings senior marketing leaders to the stage to share how they are navigating the most complex challenges in modern brand-building. Running daily at 10:30 on the Rotonde Stage, the series offers a direct line into the thinking of global brand leaders as they explore how creativity is driving growth, transformation and long-term value.
Increasingly, Cannes Lions is also evolving beyond presentation formats alone, creating new spaces for more candid and peer-led exchange among senior marketers facing similar pressures across their organisations. Building on this, the Festival is introducing a new closed-door initiative specifically for senior marketing leadership.
The inaugural LIONS Global CMO Forum will take place during the Festival on Wednesday at the Majestic Hotel, offering a private environment for open discussion. Designed as a deliberate departure from traditional formats, the Forum will bring together senior marketers to engage in frank conversation on the pressures shaping modern marketing leadership – from delivering short-term performance to building long-term brand value. Discussions will be conducted under Chatham House Rule to encourage candid exchange and shared learning among peers.
“CMOs today are navigating more complexity and scrutiny than ever before – expected to drive immediate results while building brands that endure,” Simon Cook, said. “Yet too often, the industry creates spaces where they are spoken at, rather than heard. The LIONS Global CMO Forum has been designed to change that.”
Alongside this, Cannes Lions’ long-established CMO Accelerator Programme continues as a flagship leadership experience. Since 2013, it has brought together more than 550 senior marketers from over 55 countries for a closed-door programme led by Jim Stengel and shaped around participants’ most pressing leadership challenges.
In 2026, the programme continues to expand as part of the LIONS Global Series, with City Editions also taking place in Singapore, London, São Paulo, New York and Los Angeles, extending the platform beyond Cannes and into key global markets.
Comments