The House of Commons in Cannes

Biography

James was recently announced as industry’s first Advertising Exports Champion by the Advertising Association, having previously been Chair of the organisation from 2015 – 2019. In this role he works to boost the profile of UK advertising services around the world with Promote UK, a cross-industry group that works in partnership with the Department for International Trade to promote the UK as the global hub for advertising. James will play a key role in ensuring the best of UK advertising has a strong presence at Cannes Lions this summer.

A well-known figure in the industry, James co-founded adam&eve in 2008, merging with DDB in 2012 to become adam&eveDDB. It has gone on to become one of the UK’s most successful agencies, most notable for its multi award-winning John Lewis and Foster’s campaigns.

adam&eveDDB have been the Top UK Agency at Cannes for the last four years. They are the only agency to have been awarded the IPA Effectiveness Grand Prix three times in a row. James recently announced that he is soon to set-up a new start-up agency in the near future.

In Cannes

James spoke at the ‘House of Commons in Cannes’ and ‘How to Grow Your Business Worldwide’ events on Tuesday 18th June and the ‘Createch Showcase’ event on Thursday 20th June.

Biography

CMO of Grey London since 2015, SJ brings an ambition for accelerated business growth fuelled by industry leading creative to the agency. Previously Head of Account Management and a Managing Partner at Grey, she has been responsible for some of the agency’s flagship accounts – including The British Heart Foundation and Lucozade.

SJ has worked in both global networked agencies and start-ups, across organisations as diverse as Mars, GSK, P&G and the Home Office always bringing her infectious positivity and industry renowned leadership with her.

SJ is a member of the Advertising Association’s Front Foot board and the IPA New Business Committee pushing for agencies and clients continue to strive for Marketing and New Business excellence and genuine positive impact on culture.

A staunch believer in the need for greater diversity of talent at all levels across advertising, SJ has been a driving force behind the industry wide Advertising Diversity Task Force, spearheaded by Grey since 2017. The Task Force brings together the most progressive agencies across the communications industry to use their combined energy, expertise and skills to shift the diversity dial.

In Cannes

Sarah spoke at ‘The House of Commons in Cannes’ event on Tuesday 18th June.

Biography

Stephen leads the Advertising Association, which is the UK representative for Cannes Lions this year. As such, Stephen will be playing a leading role in the UK advertising’s involvement and activities at the festival.

Stephen was appointed CEO of the Advertising Association in September 2016. Having held management roles in three agencies (Leo Burnett, WCRS/Engine and DDB/adam&eveDDB), Stephen currently chairs youth marketing agency Livity. He was recently Chairman of Lexis PR and a founder and director of U, a challenger to conventional banks.

Stephen is a past President of NABS and serves on the board of the History of Advertising Trust. He was IPA President (2003-05) where he led both their first ethnic diversity initiative and transformed its professional qualifications for new industry entrants, which over 15,000 people have now sat and passed.

In Cannes

Stephen spoke at the ‘House of Commons in Cannes’ event on Tuesday 18th June and the ‘Where do you Draw the Line’ and ‘Rebuilding Public Trust in Advertising’ events on Wednesday 19th June.

Biography

A UK-native, Sarah lived and worked in Amsterdam for 14 years, returning to London just a few months prior to the referendum result. Having honed her skills in strategic PR consultancy, content creation and brand positioning over the past 16 years, Sarah now oversees futurefactor’s global client portfolio, ensuring both strategy and tactics work to a flexible roadmap. Sarah has developed earned media strategies for creative businesses and brands such as Wieden+Kennedy, MediaMonks, Audi and Airbnb. She champions purposeful and meaningful communication that is designed to engage, inspire and, at times, provoke.

In Cannes

Sarah spoke at ‘The House of Commons in Cannes’ event of Tuesday 18th June.

Biography

Born and bred in London, Matthew’s entire career has been built on the back of the UK’s status as world class service industry hub. After starting a strategy consulting, Matthew spent 15 years working in the financial services industry for the likes of Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan helping tech and media companies go public and create value for their shareholders. Tired of the 6.45am starts, Matthew switched to public policy for a couple of years, lobbying European and US law makers on a host of issues including net neutrality, GDPR and the need for checks and balances on the global internet giants. Now working at Bloomberg’s European HQ here in London, Matthew publishes research and opinion on the global media, entertainment and technology industries and is a regular guest on Bloomberg TV and radio