Ep 228: Simon Cook & Charles Day at Cannes 2023 - "Human Leadership"

What terrifies you?

This episode marks a couple of important moments. 

It’s the first of a series that I recorded last week at the Cannes Lions festival of creativity. 

I have come to learn that Cannes is invaluable on two levels. First, for the people you meet and the relationships you build and develop. Many of the most important and meaningful relationships in my life have been forged and developed over the years at Cannes.

And second, because Cannes, in my experience, is where the future first appears. Not on the main stages, but in the whispy smoke of quiet conversations and afterthoughts that happen away from the spotlight, and that, if you’re paying attention, tell you that something is changing.  

In the months leading up to this years festival, in a series of conversations that I had with Simon Cook - the CEO of Cannes - he and I came to learn that there are two things we both want to change. 

We want to change the expectations and structure of modern leadership. 

And we both want to change ourselves.

Simon is rare. A leader in a highly visible position, unafraid to show who he really is.

Together, we agreed that this year, we would share a stage at Cannes to discuss our own, very personal journeys and why we think they are reflective of a still quiet but rapidly emerging new form of leadership. One in which vulnerability is an expectation.

Here’s a question. What terrifies you?

Today’s episode was recorded last week at Cannes in front of a group of 37 young creatives from 29 countries who had won places to the Roger Hatchuel Student Academy.

It’s the most intimate expression that Simon or I have ever shared publicly of who we are.

Our hope is that this helps to catalyze a shift across the creative industries of how leadership is evaluated and what it is fair to expect of each other - and ourselves.