Cannes Lions CMO Accelerator Programme

Today’s CMOs are expected to do more than ever: Drive growth. Build enduring brands. Embrace new technologies. Champion creativity. Inspire teams. And demonstrate the value of marketing across the business.

But who’s investing in their development?

The Cannes Lions CMO Accelerator is our flagship executive learning programme, designed exclusively for senior marketing leaders who want to become more effective, confident and creatively ambitious.

Since 2013, we’ve welcomed more than 600 senior marketing leaders from 60 countries to the programme, creating a powerful global community of current and future CMOs.

By combining the inspiration of Cannes Lions with two days of intimate, highly interactive executive learning, the programme offers something truly distinctive: the opportunity to step away from the demands of your role, challenge your thinking and focus on your own development.

You’ll leave with fresh perspectives, meaningful connections and practical ideas to create greater impact for your organisation.

Two days of executive learning. A week of Cannes Lions. A global community for life.

Leadership can be demanding, particularly when you’re expected to have all the answers.

The CMO Accelerator creates the space to step back, reflect and learn alongside senior marketing leaders who understand the opportunities and challenges you face.

Over two days, you’ll:

• elevate your creative leadership | Explore how the world’s most effective brands use creativity to drive business growth and build long-term value.
• challenge your thinking | Gain fresh perspectives on the changing role of the CMO, emerging technologies and the future of brand building.
• learn from leaders | Engage directly with globally respected CMOs, creative leaders and industry experts in candid, interactive sessions.
• connect with your peers | Build meaningful relationships with senior marketing leaders from different industries, markets and cultures.
• turn inspiration into action | Identify practical commitments you can apply to your own leadership and organisation.

This isn’t about sitting through two days of presentations. It’s about participating, sharing experiences, asking better questions and learning from some of the brightest minds in marketing.

You will have business responsibility for a business, brand or group of brands and/or responsibility for brand-building capability within the organisation - either within the division/category or across the company. The ideal candidate should be accountable for some, if not all, of the marketing/brand-building strategy and capability within your organisation.

You are likely Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Brand Officer, Chief Growth Officer, Chief Experience Officer, and more. You could also be VP, or Senior VP of Marketing or Brand Building or of a business division. All attendees will likely have 15+ years of tenure.

Company Profiles:

• CMO or other equivalent C-Suite title, of a mid-size and/or private company (revenues up to $1.5BN
• VP/Senior VP of a larger company, most likely public, $1.5BN and above
• Ideally multinational companies
• All industries, B2B and B2C

If you’d like to discuss your place on the CMO Accelerator Programme 2026, please email stevelatham@canneslions.com

The inspiration of Cannes Lions. The intimacy of an executive classroom.

Your CMO Accelerator experience combines full-week access to Cannes Lions with two days of dedicated executive learning.

The first three days are yours to enjoy the Festival, attend business meetings, connect with peers and discover inspiring content. We’ll also share a curated selection of recommended sessions to help you make the most of your time.

Then the focus shifts to you. Over the final two days, you’ll join senior marketing leaders from around the world for an intimate, highly interactive learning experience. Through candid conversations, workshops, real-world case studies and peer exchange, you’ll challenge your thinking, gain fresh perspectives and build meaningful connections.

Three pillars, one ambition. To help you become a more effective marketing leader.

1. The evolving role of the CMO What does it take to lead marketing at the highest level? Explore how the role of the CMO is changing, from influencing business strategy and driving growth to developing talent and earning the trust of the wider C-suite.

You’ll examine the decisions, capabilities and leadership behaviours that distinguish exceptional marketing leaders. Topics include:

• the changing role and expectations of the CMO
• marketing’s contribution to business growth
• leading and influencing across the C-suite
• developing the next generation of marketing talent
• navigating the challenges of leadership at the top.

2. Unlocking creative excellence How do you create the conditions for exceptional creativity to thrive? Drawing on the world’s most awarded and effective creative work, you’ll explore how leading brands turn creativity into a competitive advantage.

Go beyond the celebrated campaigns to understand the decisions, partnerships and ways of working that made them possible. Topics include:

• what it takes to create Lion-winning work
• the relationship between creativity and business effectiveness
• building successful brand and agency partnerships
• the impact of AI, technology and emerging consumer behaviours
• creating cultures that champion creative ambition.

3. Personal and leadership development When was the last time you invested two days in yourself? Exceptional leadership requires self-awareness, resilience, curiosity and the ability to navigate uncertainty.

Through candid conversations, personal reflection and peer-to-peer learning, you’ll explore how to sustain your own performance while inspiring the people around you. Topics include:

• leading with confidence, curiosity and purpose
• managing your creative self
• learning from the challenges and experiences of fellow CMOs
• building a trusted network of global peers
• translating learning into meaningful leadership commitments.

No two CMOs face the same challenges. That’s why the CMO Accelerator goes beyond a traditional conference agenda.

Before the programme, we’ll invite you to share your most pressing challenges, helping us shape discussions about what matters most to you. Through roundtables, interactive discussions and peer exchange, you’ll explore real business challenges with leaders who understand them.

After all, some of the most valuable learning comes not from the stage, but from the person sitting next to you.

Great learning should change what you do next. Throughout the programme, you’ll capture the ideas, insights and questions that resonate most with you.

Our closing Action Planning Workshop brings everything together, helping you turn two days of inspiration into a clear set of personal leadership commitments. What will you do differently? What will you challenge? What will you take back to your team?

You’ll leave with more than a notebook full of ideas. You’ll have a plan to put your learning into practice.

Your participation includes:

• full-week access to Cannes Lions with Gold pass benefits
• two days of exclusive executive learning
• exclusive networking dinner with the 2027 class
• invitation to CMO Accelerator alumni drinks during the Festival week
• a curated Festival content itinerary
• interactive workshops and peer-to-peer learning
• access to world-class marketing and creative leaders
• catering throughout the two-day learning programme
• membership of the global CMO Accelerator alumni community.

If you’d like to discuss your place on the CMO Accelerator Programme 2027, please email stevelatham@canneslions.com.

Your experience doesn't end when the Festival does. You’ll become part of an international network of senior marketing leaders who’ve shared the CMO Accelerator experience.

Through our alumni community and ongoing opportunities to reconnect, you’ll continue to exchange perspectives, build relationships and learn from peers around the world.