The FORUM: Cannes

The Forum and Dinner with Friends

June 20, 2027 | Cannes

By Invitation Only

100+ CMOs and other C-level executives from 7-Eleven, Adobe, Alexander Wang, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, AutoNation, Bath & Body Works, Canva, Chime, Chipotle, Colgate, Church & Dwight, Diageo, Electronic Arts, e.l.f. Beauty, Federal Savings Bank, Gallo, Gap Inc., GoDaddy, Goldman Sachs, Google, HP, H&R Block, Hilton, Hyatt, Indeed, IHOP, Instacart, Intuit, Kellanova, Kickstarter, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft, Land O’Lakes, LVMH, Lyft, Marriott, Mars, Mastercard, McCormick, Michaels, Moët Hennessy, Mondelez, New Belgium Brewing, Nike, Nvidia, Papa Johns, Paramount, Peet's Coffee, PepsiCo, Petco, Pinterest, Pizza Hut, Publicis, Ralph Lauren, SC Johnson, Scholastic, SF 49ers, Stagwell, Sony Music Group, Starbucks, The Cheesecake Factory, Uber, Unilever, U.S. Bank, Vans, VaynerMedia, Virgin Voyages, and more.

ON THE EVE OF THE SOLSTICE, LEADERSHIP COMES INTO FULL LIGHT.

As we approach its longest day of light at Cannes, we’re bringing together an extraordinary group of CMOs and C-level leaders for an intimate, peer-level working Forum at one of the French Riviera’s most remarkable private estates.

Perched high above Cannes, Château de la Croix des Gardes offers a rare setting for a different kind of leadership conversation. Removed from the energy of the Croisette, surrounded by gardens and sweeping views of the Mediterranean, it gives us something equally rare during Cannes: the space to think.A moment to step outside the noise. To challenge assumptions. To confront what’s changing and what isn’t. And to explore what leadership demands next.

The Solstice Leadership Forum is not another conference.

It’s a closed-door working Forum built for candor, connection and the conversations that rarely happen on stage.

No panels. No prepared talking points. Just exceptional leaders bringing their experience, perspective and biggest questions to the table.

Together, we’ll explore the forces reshaping business and leadership, from AI and transformation to growth, talent, culture and the increasingly complex expectations placed on today’s leaders.

Because as the world changes faster, the opportunity isn’t simply to keep pace.

It’s to lead what comes next.

AS THE SUN SETS OVER CANNES…

The Forum gives way to Dinner with Friends, an intimate evening centered on what has always been at the heart of Virtuosi League: meaningful connection.

And this year, there is so much to celebrate.

As we move into the Summer Solstice and Fête de la Musique, France’s celebration of music on June 21, the evening sits at a remarkable intersection of light, music, leadership and human connection.

Expect unforgettable performances to be announced, a not-to-be-missed Trivia Night, and a few surprises along the way.

Request an invite for One remarkable château. One extraordinary community. One night in Cannes.

Enterprise Leadership in an Era of Transformation

The CMO role is evolving rapidly, shaped by the enterprise context. In some organizations, CMOs are the strategic architects of growth; in others, they must assert their place at the table as the voice of the customer. We will explore how CMOs align with the C-Suite to drive enterprise priorities, maintain authentic customer connection in an era when AI is reshaping research and insights, and build organizational resilience amid volatility. The focus is on strengthening the CMO as both a peer to the C-Suite and a strategic integrator—ensuring marketing remains a growth engine, not a support function.

Human and Machine: Redefining Culture

As agentic AI becomes an embedded part of marketing organizations (projected to account for 20% of teams within 2-3 years) CMOs face the dual challenge of rethinking capabilities and protecting culture. We will examine how to design organizations for the future, balancing in-house, outsourced, and AI-driven work, while fostering team cultures of trust, clarity, and adaptability. It will also address the growing strain on leadership stamina and mental health, exploring how to sustain high performance without sacrificing well-being. The focus is on creating environments where human creativity, empathy, and resiliency thrive alongside machine intelligence.

Redefining Growth and Marketing Fundamentals

Marketing is being rewired from the ground up. Brand building and advertising are facing new channels, discovery models, and consumer behaviors that demand agility and reinvention. We will explore how CMOs can redefine growth in a world where advertising shifts from traditional search to AI-driven discovery, where consumers expect brands to meet them across fragmented ecosystems, and where global competition plays by vastly different rules on data and regulation. The focus is on rethinking how success is planned, measured, and delivered—ensuring marketing remains both credible to the C-Suite and indispensable to enterprise growth.

Societal Impact, Cultural Credibility, and Ethical Leadership

In an era of heightened expectation and scrutiny, marketers face a defining question: should brands play a role beyond their commercial value, and if so, when, where, and how? CMOs now sit at the intersection of trust, culture, and commerce, balancing the expectations of consumers,e mployees, and communities with the responsibility to drive growth. The challenge is not to assume that role automatically but to discern when purpose truly aligns with authenticity, enterprise value, and stakeholder trust. Leadership now requires discernment, the ability to act or to choose restraint responsibly and sustainably in a world shaped by transparency, polarization, and AI transformation.