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The long-time chairman of Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Terry Savage, has announced he will move on after the 2018 event.
He has been part of the organization for the past 33 years.
Described by Philip Thomas, CEO of Lions-owner Ascential Events, as “a huge figure” in the history of Cannes, Terry had begun his career with Cannes Lions representing the Australian contingent.
He went on to be named CEO in 2003 and in 2006, he became the chairman. Before joining Cannes Lion, Terry was running cinema group Val Morgan.
Talking about his exit, Terry said, “Creativity has been central to everything I believe in and having spent a large part of my career with Lions I leave in the knowledge that creativity will continue to thrive at Cannes Lions. The Festival will continue to evolve as the industry changes, and thrive as it has for 65 years.”
Sharing the news of Terry’s departure, Philip commented, “Terry has been a huge figure in the history of Cannes Lions for decades – those who know him will know he is a big personality with a big passion for creativity and for the Festival he has worked on for so long. He leaves with our best wishes.”
The announcement comes at a time when Cannes Lions has been drawing concerns of it turning into a more commercial venture than a recognition of creativity. At the 2017 event, Publicis group global CEO Arthur Sadoun, announced that Publicis would not be entering any of the awards in 2018 as it pulled back its spend.
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