• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, April 27, 2022

The Cannes Lions organization has unveiled the initial batch of industry luminaries taking part in this year’s Festival of Creativity set for June in Cannes.

This year’s program will address big industry issues including talent acquisition, DEI, sustainability, data/tech/innovation, business transformation and creative effectiveness.

Industry leaders taking to the stage include Accenture Song CEO David Droga, Dentsu International CEO Wendy Clark and WPP CEO Mark Read. 

Also, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky will address the extent of the talent crisis within the creative space.

Among the executives who will address DEI issues are Bob Lord, IBM Senior Vice-President and Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy.

Adam Kerj, Chief Creative Officer, Accenture Song Nordics and Anne Krogh, Chief Marketing Officer, IKEA Denmark are among the speakers who will discuss industry sustainability topics.

On the data, tech and innovation front, Tiffany Rolfe, Global Chief Creative Officer, R/GA and Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer, R/GA will introduce activists, innovators, and “super-users” who are choosing to make the Metaverse a more human-friendly place. 

Executives from AB InBev - this year’s Creative Marketer of the Year - will take to the stage to talk about creativity as a driver for business growth.

The Festival’s “CMOs in the Spotlight” series returns with participants this year including The Lego Group’s Julia Goldin, L'Oréal’s Asmita Dubey and others.

Hollywood hyphenate Ryan Reynolds, who co-founded the ad agency Maximum Effort, now part of MNTN, will discuss how TV ad campaigns can take chances and exploit what many view as the current “golden age of television,” created in large part by the burgeoning streaming services sector.  

The Festival takes place June 20-24 and further details on the event can be accessed here.