LIONS CMO Accelerator Comes to Five Cities Beyond Cannes Lions

Sep. 15, 2026

LIONS is bringing its established CMO Accelerator programme to five cities beyond Cannes Lions, making the leadership experience more accessible year-round through a series of CMO Accelerator City Editions.

The City Editions bring the global benchmarks and best practices established at Cannes Lions closer to regional communities, by making LIONS' evidence, capabilities and networks accessible throughout the year and tailored to local markets. The regional insights and leadership conversations from cities around the world will feed back into Cannes Lions, ensuring the global gathering continues to reflect and elevate the needs of the CMO community.

Following the success of pilot editions in São Paulo and London last year, the two-day, in-person programmes will run from September to November in Los Angeles, Singapore, New York, São Paulo and London. Each edition will follow the CMO Accelerator model developed at Cannes Lions over more than a decade (in partnership with Jim Stengel, former Global Marketing Officer at Procter & Gamble), with content shaped for the local market and led by senior marketing leaders in each city.

Gaelle Comte, SVP, LIONS Learning, said: 

"The CMO Accelerator has built real momentum at Cannes Lions because it gives senior marketers time to step back, compare decisions with peers and sharpen how they lead. Bringing that experience into cities means more leaders can access it in a setting that reflects their own market, while still connecting into a broader global programme. It also allows us to stay closer to CMOs and aspiring CMOs throughout the year, strengthen regional communities and ensure the leadership dialogue we're building continues to evolve - both locally and at Cannes Lions."

 

Los Angeles will host the first 2026 City Edition on 23-24 September. The programme will be led by Patricia Corsi, Chief Growth Officer at Kimberly-Clark, and Renata Ferraiolo, EVP and President, International Markets at SC Johnson. OUTFRONT Media will host, with the ANA serving as the marketing partner and Profound will sponsor the edition.

Singapore will follow on 15-16 October, led by Siew Ting Foo, CEO of Soul for Profit Advisory and former Global Chief Brand and Insights Officer at HP Inc. The Singapore edition is partnered with Spikes Asia and sponsored by Maker Lab.

New York will take place on 5-6 November, with Mark Kirkham, CMO of PepsiCo Beverages US, leading as Programme Director. Havas will host this edition, while the ANA and ACA will serve as marketing partners. The New York edition is sponsored by QUILT and Profound.

São Paulo will run on 16-17 November, led by Fernando Machado, Chief Brand Officer at Chipotle. Netflix will host this edition, with ESPM and Meio & Mensagem serving as marketing partners.

London will conclude the 2026 series on 25-26 November. The programme will be led by Mark Evans, former MD, Marketing and Digital at Direct Line and executive coach to CMOs. The London edition is hosted by Virgin and sponsored by Profound.