The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced its jury line-up for its 2026 edition, scheduled to take place from June 22 to June 26.
A total of 13 jurors from India have been named across categories, including two jury presidents.
Jury Presidents from India
- Anupriya Acharya: CEO, Publicis Groupe, South Asia (Jury President – Creative Data)
- Kainaz Karmakar: Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, India (Jury President – Health & Wellness)
Awarding Jurors from India
| Category | Juror | Role/Organisation |
| Creative Strategy | Dheeraj Sinha | CEO, McCann Worldgroup, India |
| Creative Business Transformation | Rakesh Menon | Chief Creative Experience Officer, Ulka |
| Digital Craft | Gurbaksh Singh | CCO & CIO, Dentsu Creative, India |
| Design | Lulu Raghavan | President – APAC, Landor |
| Media | Anisha Iyer | CEO, OMD, India |
| Print & Publishing | Dhruv Warrior | Executive Creative Director, VML, India |
| Outdoor | Pooja Manek | Creative & Founding Member, Talented Agency |
| Entertainment | Prachi Narayan | Managing Partner, Havas Play, India |
| Entertainment Lions for Sport | Binda Dey | Global CMO, Knight Riders Sports |
| Entertainment Lions for Music | Subhajit Mukherjee | Music Composer |
| Entertainment Lions for Gaming | Amitesh Rao | CEO, Leo Burnett, South Asia |
The broader jury line-up has reflected increased representation from regions including Africa, the Pacific, MENA and LATAM, with first-time jurors from countries such as the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
The organisers have stated that the remaining jury line-ups, including Creative Brand, Dan Wieden, Titanium and Luxury, will be announced at a later stage.
“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.” — Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS
“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.” — Marian Brannelly, Global Director of Awards, LIONS
