India’s six-pack makes Cannes Lions shortlist jury cut

Cannes Lions has announced the line-up of global industry experts as the Shortlisting Jury at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025. This year’s Shortlisting Jury panel includes six senior advertising professionals from India.

These experts from India include Neville Shah, chief creative officer, FCB Kinnect India for ‘Brand Experience & Activation Lions’ category, Arun Iyer, co-founder and partner, Spring Marketing Capital for ‘Creative Strategy Lions’, Prajato Guha Thakurta, co-founder and chief creative officer, Manja India for ‘Direct Lions’. Similarly, the Shortlisting Jury for ‘Entertainment Lions’ category is Rajika Mittra, managing partner, Havas Play India, Vivek Dubey, director, Manjumaa India is for the ‘Film Craft Lions’ category, and Arnab Ray, executive creative director, Landor India for ‘Industry Craft Lions’ category.

Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said, “All our Jurors play a crucial role in shaping the work awarded at Cannes Lions. This year, we are seeing an unprecedented level of global engagement from deserving talent, with more markets, more voices, and more perspectives coming together to recognise the global benchmark.”

Hailing from 79 country markets, the industry experts on the Shortlisting Jury will shortlist creative work to be judged for this year’s awards. The markets including Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, and Mongolia have been represented on the Shortlisting Jury for the first time in the history of Cannes Lions.

The awards ceremony will take place during the upcoming Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, between June 16 and 20, 2025.

Marian Brannelly, global director of awards, LIONS, said: “The 2025 Shortlisting Jury truly reflects the global nature of creativity. The addition of new markets indicates the rising creative influence and economies of these regions.”

The full list of Jury and other details about the awards can be found on the official website of Cannes Lions.