The Cannes Jury Presidents for 2026 have been announced, with South Africa’s Gugu Mthembu, the chief marketing officer for Telkom, named jury president for Creative Business Transformation.
She joins the lineup of 27 jury presidents comprised of global leaders in the advertising and marketing industry, such as Marcel Marcondes, CMO, AB InBev, who has been named as the inaugural Jury President for the Creative Brand Lion, which recognises the systems, cultures and capabilities that make world-class creative inevitable.
The 2026 line-up recognises the vital role independent agencies play in pushing creative boundaries – with first-time Jury presidents from Artplan, Rethink, M+C Saatchi and Mother.
The Creative Business Transformation Lions celebrate the creativity that drives businesses forward – creative transformation that changes thinking, buying and behaviour.
The work should demonstrate how creative change has been achieved across core business functions and has delivered a positive impact and growth for business, staff or stakeholders. This could include, but not be limited to, the reinvention of operations and stakeholder experiences, the innovative use of technology and business design and the creation of new products and services in order to generate transformative change.
In 2025, Mthembu formed part of the Creative Business Transformation jury.
In her jury president profile, Mthembu is described as someone with “a sharp blend of tech savvy, creative vision, and purposeful impact, Gugu Mthembu exemplifies how marketing can lead growth, cultural relevance and transformation”.
“Gugu understands the key role she plays in industry and societal transformation and spearheads initiatives that drive inclusion and impactful change inside and outside the organisation, which saw her being recently awarded Brand Leader of the Year at The Mark Awards in 2025.”
By BizComm