Twitter’s Jack Dorsey named Media Person of the Year - Cannes Lions 2012

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will honour Jack Dorsey, the creator, co-founder and executive chairman of Twitter, and the co-founder and chief executive officer, Square, Inc., with ‘The Media Person of the Year Award’ at the 2012 edition.

The award is presented annually to an influential figure in the development of today’s media landscape, ultimately playing an integral part in shaping the future of the creative communications industry. The previous recipient of the Award was Eric Schmidt, executive chairman, Google.

Philip Thomas, chief executive officer, Cannes Lions, said, "Since inventing Twitter in 2006, Jack Dorsey has, in an incredibly short space of time, brought to the world an entirely new way for people to communicate, share ideas, and learn new things. It has become, in the meantime, a powerful social and political force, and is now part of the everyday global media language. The power and simplicity of what he has created has made Twitter a social phenomenon, and we are delighted to honour Jack with this award."

On being conferred with the Award, Dorsey said, "Brands have always used Twitter in creative ways to engage directly with customers. This award celebrates those brands and customers alike."

Dorsey will be honoured during the Press, Design, Radio and Cyber Lions awards ceremony on 20 June in the Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France.

Cannes Lions delegates will also have the opportunity to attend the Twitter seminar on the theme ‘Harnessing the Power of Real-Time Connections’, to be presented by Dick Costolo, chief executive officer, Twitter, on 22 June.

To register to attend the 59th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, readers may visit www.canneslions.com