Cannes Lions is launching the first LIONS Global CMO Forum, a new closed-door gathering designed for marketing directors, created as a space for direct and substantive dialogue around the issues increasingly defining how marketing operates within organisations.
The Forum will take place during the Festival, on Wednesday 24 June at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes, and is intentionally positioned as a departure from standard industry formats. Instead of presentations and pre-set narratives, the focus is on exchange between peers facing similar pressures, delivering measurable results while building long-term brand value.
As Simon Cook, CEO of LIONS, points out, the initiative addresses a long-standing imbalance in how the industry engages with the role: “CMOs today operate in a more complex and demanding environment than ever before. They are expected to deliver immediate results while building brands that endure. Yet they rarely have a space where they can speak openly about those challenges. The LIONS Global CMO Forum has been designed to change that, as a closed and trusted environment where leading marketing leaders can exchange perspectives, challenge thinking, and gain insights directly relevant to their roles. By bringing together insights from the LIONS Global CEO Forum and the ANA | LIONS CMO Global Growth Council, we aim to better connect marketing with the broader business context and its influence on decision-making.”
In practical terms, the Forum is structured around discussion rather than presentation. Conversations take place in a closed setting, following principles that enable candid and direct exchange without the need for formal positioning or public narratives. This includes insights from the ANA | LIONS CMO Global Growth Council, chaired by Marc Pritchard of P&G, as well as perspectives drawn from the LIONS Global CEO Forum, bringing together both sides of the leadership equation to explore how marketing can more effectively influence growth agendas.
The topics reflect the key pressure points shaping the marketing function today. From strengthening marketing’s influence at the executive level, to managing the ongoing tension between short-term performance and long-term brand building, to the role of emerging technologies, including AI, as drivers of both creative and business impact. The evolving scope and tenure of the marketing leadership role is also in focus, alongside the transformation of teams, skills, and organisational models that support it.
Attendance is limited and by invitation only, reinforcing the Forum’s intent to prioritise depth of exchange over scale.
