Josy Paul to lead SDG Lions Jury at Cannes 2025

India's Josy Paul has been appointed as the Jury President for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Lions category in this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Paul is the chairperson and chief creative officer of BBDO India.

Paul is among the few global leaders appointed as the jury president. The representatives from Asia include Jane Lin-Baden of Publicis Groupe, Seiya Matsumiya of Black Cat White Cat Music, and Naoki Tanaka of Dentsu. The presidents will be responsible for judging the entries across 28 categories, and identifying the most creative and impactful campaigns across the globe.

Key jury presidents include Xolisa Dyeshana for Audio & Radio, Tara Ford for Brand Experience and Activation, Wendy Walker for Creative B2B, and Andrea Diquez for Creative Effectiveness. Other significant jury appointments include KR Liu for Glass: The Lion for Change and Dan Clays for Media. 

The jury leaders for the Design Lions and Entertainment Lions for Sport categories are expected to be announced later. The details about submissions, entry kits, and festival initiatives are made available on the official Cannes Lions website. 

Lions CEO Simon Cook said, "We welcome the group of leaders who understand the power of creative excellence to drive business growth and impact. All experts in their fields, their talent, commitment, and leadership will provide the judging process with integrity and rigour."

Given below is the list of jury presidents at Cannes Lions 2025. Leading the Audio & Radio category is Xolisa Dyeshana, chief creative officer at Joe Public, representing Africa and the Middle East. Tara Ford, chief creative officer at Droga5 ANZ and Accenture Song, will oversee Brand Experience and Activation for the APAC region. Wendy Walker, vice president of marketing - ASEAN at Salesforce will be in charge of the Creative B2B category in ASEAN, while Jane Lin-Baden, APAC CEO and member of the global management committee at Publicis Groupe will be oversee the Creative Business Transformation category.

Gabriel Schmitt, global chief creative Officer at Grey, will preside over Creative Commerce and Tina Allan, global chief data and intelligence officer at FCB, will head Creative Data, and Andrea Diquez, global CEO at GUT, will lead Creative Effectiveness. Creative Strategy will be overseen by Dentsu Creative's global chief strategy officer, Pats McDonald. Naoki Tanaka, chief creative officer at Dentsu Lab, Dentsu, will lead Digital Craft, while Gaëtan du Peloux, president and chief creative officer at Marcel, France, will take charge of Direct. David Rolfe, global head of production at WPP/Hogarth, will preside over the Entertainment Lions category, and Sue Anderson, vice president of creative at Roblox, will oversee the Entertainment Lions for Gaming category. Entertainment Lions for Music will be led by Seiya Matsumiya, CEO and co-founder of Black Cat White Cat Music.

Kate Stanners, chairwoman and global chief creative officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, will lead Film, while Ali Ali, co-founder and film director at Good People Films, will be in charge of Film Craft. KR Liu, global head of disability innovation at Google, will oversee Glass: The Lion for Change. Eric Weisberg, global chief creative officer at Havas Health Network, will head the Health & Wellness category. Industry Craft will be led by Matthias Spaetgens, chief creative officer at Scholz & Friends, covering Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Courtney Brown Warren, chief marketing officer at Kickstarter, will take charge of Innovation, and Mathilde Delhoume Debreu, global brand officer at LVMH, will lead the Luxury category. Media will be overseen by Dan Clays, CEO of Omnicom Media Group for EMEA, while Keka Morelle, chief creative officer - LATAM at Ogilvy will lead Outdoor for the LATAM region. Franklin Williams, EVP and executive experience director at AREA 23, an IPG Health company, will oversee Pharma.

Tom Beckman, global chief creative officer at Weber Shandwick, will lead PR, and Icaro Doria, president and chief creative officer at DM9, will head Print & Publishing. Social & Creator will be led by Beth Keamy, chief digital officer at TBWA\Media Arts Lab. Judy John, global chief creative officer at Edelman will lead the Dan Wieden Titanium Lions. As mentioned above, Josy Paul, chairperson and chief creative officer at BBDO India, will presides over the Sustainable Development Goals category.

The international festival’s 72nd edition is being held in Cannes, France, from June 16 to 20, 2025. The last submission date for awards nomination will be April 10, 2025.