31 students from 31 different countries will be joining us at Cannes Lions 2025 to learn firsthand from the world’s greatest brands, creative minds and industry leaders. They’ll kick-start their creative careers by exploring different avenues of the industry, with topics including the value of diversity, building your personal brand and working with purpose.

This year’s cohort sees participants from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Venezuela for the very first time. Each student was nominated by our partner organisations in their respective countries, and then chosen by our global selection panel made up of industry experts from nine countries.

Take a look at the 2025 panelists below:

Lissy Calienes, Associate Instructional Professor, Advertising Department, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, United States (Academy Dean)

Claudia Matjushin Castro, Account Executive Trainee, VML, Spain (Academy Tutor)

Abnia Loriston, Program Director, The Creative Ladder, United States

Adrianne C. Smith, SVP/Senior Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, FleishmanHillard, United States

Andy Del Rosario, Associate Creative Director, McCann Worldgroup Philippines, Philippines

Anusheela Saha, National Creative Director, FCB India, India

Courtney Williams, Marketing Manager, Le Coq Sportif, South Africa

Gilda Valle, Strategy Director, BBDO Ecuador, Ecuador

Juan Carlos Ortiz, CEO, IdeasJCO, United States

Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, South APAC & MENA, L'Oreal, Singapore

Maks Kallhed, Innovation Director, Amongst Friends, United Kingdom

Ndubuisi Uchea, CEO & Co-Founder, Word on the Curb, United Kingdom

Sandro Gelashvili, Head of Creative Works, MENA and Global Gaming and Tech Google, United Arab Emirates