Cannes Lions 2026: 10 Indians on awarding jury line-up

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, taking place 22–26 June 2026, has announced its Awarding Jury line-up for this year’s Festival.

There are 10 leaders from the Indian advertising industry in the line-up:

1. Rakesh Menon | Chief Creative Experience Officer, Ulka, India
2. Dheeraj Sinha | CEO, McCann, India
3. Gurbaksh Singh | Chief Creative Officer and Chief Innovation Officer, Dentsu Creative, India
4. Prachi Narayan | Managing Partner, Havas Play, India
5. Subhajit Mukherjee | Music Composer, India
6. Binda Dey | Global Chief Marketing Officer, Knight Riders Sports, India
7. Kainaz Karmakar | Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, India
8. Anisha Iyer | CEO, OMD, India
9. Dhruv Warrior | Executive Creative Director, VML, India
10. Pooja Manek | Creative and Founding Member, Talented Agency, India

Amongst those making their Jury debut is French brand, AXA, following its success in 2025, winning 13 Lions. The line-up also welcomes increased representation from across Africa, Pacific, MENA and LATAM, including first-time Jurors from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Commenting on this year’s line-up, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said: “The impact of the Cannes Lions Jury can’t be underestimated. Their time and expertise in recognising groundbreaking work sets the global creative benchmark for the year ahead and provides a view of the future shape of creativity. Each year, our Juries are carefully selected to uphold this standard, and this year is no exception. Welcoming new expert voices across a breadth of markets and disciplines, we are delighted to bring together some of the industry’s most well-respected leaders to define the creative standards driving our industry forward and celebrate the transformative power of creativity to create change, shape society, and build business.”

Marian Brannelly, Global Director of Awards, LIONS, added: “The composition of this year’s Juries speaks to how creativity is evolving – it’s becoming more interconnected, more diverse, and more influential across every part of business. With more markets than ever represented and a growing number of leaders from independent agencies and brands, this year’s line-up will ensure that the work is judged through a truly global and contemporary lens. This is critical to setting the benchmark for creative excellence today. We thank all our experts for the care and dedication they will bring to the judging process.”