The CMO Accelerator I City Editions

Part of the Cannes Lions CMO Accelerator global series

World-class leadership learning. Coming to a city near you.

For more than a decade, the Cannes Lions CMO Accelerator has helped the world’s most influential brand leaders sharpen their creative leadership, expand their perspective, and build lasting peer networks.

The City Editions are taking that experience worldwide.

Designed to bring Cannes Lions to the doorstep of aspiring CMOs the world over, with a single global standard of creative excellence that the industry can build strong regional cohorts around – this is one programme, speaking to different cultures and moments, but serving the same ambition.

To help senior marketing leaders grow with creativity, confidence and impact.

LIONS Learning brands featuring the Cannes Lions, WARC, and Contagious logos

Why attend CMO Accelerator City Editions

It’s designed by people who’ve done the job.
The programme is practitioner-led, shaped by CMOs and senior marketer
and built by real work that delivers results – not academics or generic leadership providers.
Off-stage is just as important as on-stage.
Attendance is curated. So you’ll learn alongside senior leaders with comparable responsibility – facilitating honest, peer-level connection.
Global standards. Local relevance.
Each City Edition combines Cannes Lions insight with regional market
context, so your learning is world-renowned, and immediately applicable.
It’s immersive, not performative.
This is not a conference. It’s a focused, discussion-driven experience that delivers clarity rather than content overload.
It connects you to a global CMO community.
City Editions are part of a year-round global programme, not a one-off event. Meaning you’ll have a ready-made network from day one.

Reserve your place

How does it work?

The City Editions follow the proven Cannes Lions CMO Accelerator structure – with each session adapted for your region so that it’s rooted in the local marketing landscape, not imported.

The Role of the CMO Today: How the function is evolving in a complex, creativity- driven marketplace
What it takes to win a Lion: Behind the scenes with Cannes Lions Winners and Lions Presidents and Jurors
Manage your creative self: Take charge of your career
Brand marketing hot shots: What do they want from their CMO?
Inside the creator mindset: What CMOs need to know now

Key Learning Outcomes

Strategic capability boost. Leave with renowned clarity on how to lead with creativity fuelled growth, translating big ideas into measurable business impact
Peer-to-peer learning. CMOs and marketing leaders share live business challenges and pressure-test strategies in a trusted environment with global peers
Immediate activation. Participants often return to their teams and apply frameworks immediately - whether it's updating brand purpose, restructuring agency partnerships or rethinking customer engagement
Career acceleration and visibility. Several alumni have been promoted within 12-18 months of attending, citing the programme as a career inflection point
Award-winning work. Creative campaigns developed or reshaped after the CMO Accelerator have gone on to perform brilliantly at Cannes Lions, the Effies and regional effectiveness awards

Meet your Programme Director

Fernando Machado

Fernando Machado is one of the world’s most awarded and respected marketers of his generation. Formerly CMO at Activision Blizzard, CMO at Restaurant Brands International and a Senior marketing leader at Unilever – where he led Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ platform – he’s won over 200 times at Cannes Lions and is known for combining creative ambition with commercial discipline.

Fernando’s involvement guarantees consistency, quality, and credibility across every CMO Accelerator I City Edition.

As Programme Director, Fernando is responsible for:

Curating the agenda
Leading key sessions
Facilitating peer discussions
Keeping the experience practical, honest, and relevant

Testimonials

Laura Ness Owens

Chief Marketing Officer, Doosan Bobcat

I am more knowledgeable and inspired than ever! A fellow attendee said she wished she would have known about this 5 years ago. I shared that I felt like it came at just the right time – and I'm so excited to apply the new thinking to all that I do.

Sam Southey

SVP Brand Equity & Creative, Coty

An executive summary of all the inspiration there is in the world from the last 12 months. It is a jolt to the system and will certainly give you wings.

Lorretta Romero

VP of Marketing, LCOR, INC

The CMO Accelerator continues to deliver exceptional value. It's one of the few experiences that truly supports CMO-level growth and connection.

Wendy Walker

Chief Marketing Officer, Salesforce

It’s an incredible space for CMOs from all around the world to come together, learn, challenge each other, and grow.

Ebru Ozguc

Group Strategic Marketing Director, Babcock

Whether you're looking for inspiration, to see outstanding work, learn new things or meet brilliant minds, there is no better place than the CMO Accelerator Programme.

Patricia Wong

Global Salesforce Alliance Marketing, Deloitte

The programme expands how we think, lead, and create. It offers honest conversations with CMOs, the chance to dissect award-winning campaigns, meaningful discussions on emerging trends and the space to rethink how we show up as leaders.

Dominic Kreutzmer

Brand Director, Bacardi Global Brands

The CMO Accelerator is a genuinely transformative two-day experience. You learn as much from the CMOs sitting beside you as you do from the world-class speakers on stage. The diversity of industries, perspectives, and challenges in the room pushes your own thinking fast. I walked away with practical takeaways. I could apply immediately and a stronger sense of where modern marketing leadership is heading. I’d recommend it without hesitation.

Sayed Hajamaideen

Head of Brand and Marketing, Smarty

The CMO Accelerator programme is the single most important investment I've made in myself in years. There's never been a more exciting time to do what we do as marketers, and this programme brings the opportunity to life with real practical takeaways you can genuinely implement as soon as you return back to the workplace,

The CMO Accelerator is trusted by some of the world’s leading brands.

The CMO Accelerator Opportunity

We’re looking for senior marketing leaders responsible for brand building in their organisation. Business leaders, Strategy and Marketing owners, and established thought leaders.

You should have a proven passion for brand building, alongside a track record of leadership and progress-pushing in your business. Demonstrated interest in the newest and most innovative ways of building a business through the lens of the brand is a plus.

Get in touch

To find out more about the CMO Accelerator Series curriculum and get details on pricing, please get in touch below:

Contact us

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