Simon Cook (Cannes Lions CEO): Creativity as a Growth System

Creativity isn’t a “nice to have” - it’s infrastructure for growth.

Simon Cook, CEO of Cannes Lions, shares what the world’s top leaders are learning about turning creativity into a repeatable system that drives brand building, innovation, and business growth - even when budgets tighten and AI reshapes the rules.

In this episode, we cover:

• From polishing trophies to leading Cannes Lions: Simon’s path (and what he learned along the way)

• Why Cannes is shifting from celebrating outputs to rewarding the inputs behind great work (the new Creative Brand Lion)

• What 50 global CEOs said about unlocking the next chapter of growth through creativity

• How to build “conditions for success”: culture, rituals, accountability, KPIs, and creative infrastructure

• Creators at Cannes: what the creator economy means for brands, platforms, and agencies

• AI integrity standards: protecting trust, authenticity, and authorship in creative work

If you’re a CMO, founder, agency leader, or anyone trying to make the business case for creativity, this one’s for you.

Follow Second Wind for more conversations at the intersection of creativity, marketing, and growth.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:43 From agency to Cannes

04:55 Creativity as infrastructure

06:15 The Global CEO Forum

11:25 Reframing creativity as innovation

16:35 Creators, brands, platforms

22:15 Access, ERA, talent pipeline

28:40 AI integrity standards

34:55 Legacy: creativity as a system