Careers in the Making
Cannes Lions is home to incredible tales of inspiration, resilience and creativity. Hear some of them here.
In Careers In The Making, we catch up with Festival delegates from all walks of life – learning about their stories, their passion and how Cannes Lions is helping shape their creativity today. No matter where you are in your creative journey, here’s where you’ll find some inspiration to make history of your own.
“Creativity is all about life. Life is beautiful.”
Cristian Rocha & Álvaro Rodrigues
Co-Founders & CEOs, Made México; Made Brazil
For Álvaro and Cristian, being aligned with who you work for makes all the difference. They tell us how they went from meeting on the Cannes Lions Jury to becoming founders of Made – fuelled by a mutual desire to create their own work and bring creativity from every source.
“You don’t want to be like everyone else.”
Andy Del Rosario
Associate Creative Director, Ogilvy
For Andy, creativity isn’t just about the 9-to-5 job – it comes from all corners of life. She talks about how her creativity stems from her cultural background, and her ambition to carve out a space for Filipino people in the industry so they can be part of life-changing community at Cannes Lions.
"When you win something this big, you’re like, okay, I don’t need to keep doubting myself.”
Nidhi Shah & Rag Brahmbhatt
Art Director; Creative, adam&eve Berlin
Self-doubt is all too familiar for a lot of creatives. But after winning a Gold Lion as interns and going onto speak at the Roger Hatchuel Student Academy, it’s safe to say Nidhi and Rag pushed past it. They talk about how they find inspiration from observation, and how their win opened a lot of doors for them in the industry.
“Trust the process, and be very determined.”
Jelil Adedoyin
Digital Marketing Manager, Reckitt
From working in mechanical engineering to holding the very-first Facebook agency workshop in Nigeria, Jalil knows what it takes to succeed. It’s all about dedication. He tells us how creativity is not just about personal growth, but also influencing others – and how Cannes Lions brings all the opportunities creatives look for under one roof.
“Creativity with purpose has the power to improve people’s quality of life.”
Camila Acuña Sotillo
Head of Strategy, UNACEM
Camila explains how her previous career in construction shows how lived experience can inform creative ideas and give unique perspectives. She talks about why her Lion-winning work ‘Sightwalks’ – work that helped visually impaired people improve their independence – was meaningful to her, and how creativity has helped her stay open-minded, flexible and empathetic.
“There's so many small, scrappy agencies out there with really killer ideas.”
B.C. LeDoux & Jarrod Lopiccolo
Managing Partner & CCO; CEO & Founder, Noble Studios
From inspiration to action, B.C. and Jarrod talk about how they joined forces on indie agency Noble. For them, it's all about building brand experiences that bring people together under common values, and how innovation spreads across their teams. They spoke about how Cannes Lions helped funnel their creativity, and called for more small agencies to be part of it.
Careers In The Making | 2024
“Be open always to listen, to see, to understand new things.”
Rony Saavedra
Art Director
Hard work and humility are often overlooked when it comes to creativity. But for Rony Saavedra, staying grounded and simple in his work is key to his success. In the latest episode of Careers In The Making, Rony explains why trusting his ability is the most important part of his process – and how it’s helped him win two Awards in the Young Lions Competition.
“Your voice can really make a difference.”
Bernice Puleng Mosala
Copywriter, FP7 McCann
‘Keep going’ are two small words with big impact for Bernice Puleng Mosala. After entering the Young Lions Competition for the first time in 2019, Bernice won in 2020 – but couldn’t attend due to Covid. Fast forward to 2023 and she was a winner in her local Lions Competition. This year, she won Gold in Cannes. For Careers In The Making, this is her story.
“I am healthy. I am strong. In this room I do belong.”
Joy Richu
Illustrator
Joy Richu, part of the 2024 See It Be It cohort, brings her lived experience to her practice in a way that feels authentic and exciting. Speaking at this year’s Festival, she describes what creativity means to her – and what it means to take her space as a woman of colour.
“Just be as creative as you can get, be as wild as you can get.”
TK Teo
Associate Creative Director, Bluefocus Communication Group
Young creatives are driving the industry forward with fresh ideas and approaches – and for TK Teo, Cannes Lions is the perfect place to gather those new perspectives. In the 2024 Creative Academy, TK met and worked with peers from around the world. Here’s how his Festival experience has shaped his work.
Careers In The Making | 2023
“Create acts, not ads.”
Esosa Osagiede
Deputy Creative Director, Leo Burnett, Nigeria
As part of See It Be It 2023, Esosa Osagiede wanted to bring about real change back home in Nigeria – helping drive progress by encouraging more women not just to get into the creative field, but to reach the top of it.
“It was such a beautiful experience to be part of this.”
Lex Remalante
Global Creative, The Barn, Arla
Sometimes, getting your foot in the door isn’t enough. As a member of the See It Be It cohort for 2023, Lex Remalante went to Cannes Lions to take the door off its hinges – and invite every participant after her to do the same.
“I feel like my creativity is broader. I'm able to bring fresh perspectives. I'm able to offer new ideas in ways that people have never thought about.”
Jeng Au
Creative Art Director, Amazon
Cannes Lions is a place for people of all backgrounds to celebrate creative history in the making. In this episode, Jeng discusses how their lived experience brings power to their practice.
“When you put your heart, your sentiment, your intention to a project, that really shows in the results.”
Max Alonso
Co-Founder and Executive Producer, UMMI
Creativity takes heart. But Max goes further – ensuring heart is always at the core of his creative process. We spoke to Max about the importance of personal connection and emotion in creativity.
Careers In The Making | 2022
“You get innovation when you bring these different dynamics of perspective.”
Vincent Bragg
ConCreates
Creativity can thrive in the most difficult of circumstances. Vincent Bragg is living proof of that. He started his creative agency, ConCreates, whilst serving time in prison and his team of radical thinkers draws on incarcerated men and women, and former inmates.
“It’s all about being transparent in the workplace, with each other. It’s the age of authenticity, in a way.”
Çağla Büyükkoç Sütlüoğlu
Walrus Creative Works
Creativity is at its best with humanity at its core. Çağla advocates for mental health positivity in the industry. She shares her story of kindness as part of the See It Be It cohort at Cannes Lions 2023.
“To normalise experiences like this for working class people of colour, with a disability especially… it’s amazing.”
Zoe Fox
Podcaster, writer
Creative excellence will find a way to break through adversity. Against the odds, Zoe inspires women to find their true potential through creativity – all the while living with a spinal cord injury that changed her life forever.
“I do believe if I put my mind to something, I will eventually learn it and do it.”
Sameer Ali
Adcom Leo Burnett
Having won a LIONS Scholarship, Sameer is one of the first people from Pakistan to attend a Creative Academy. Here’s how his lived experience and his time at Cannes Lions have influenced his creativity.
“I want to learn. I want to be around these people because I want to learn how I can create impactful stories that will make people want to react.”
Grace Lokako
Logitech
When creativity and technology combine, progress comes easily. Grace discusses what it means to be part of Cannes Lions on a scholarship – and how she’ll use what she’s learned back home in Switzerland to address the gender gap in tech.
