Joining Kazoo Sato, Jury President for the SDGs Lions, a total of three leaders from TBWA\HAKUHODO collective will shape the future of global creativity.

 

TBWA\HAKUHODO is proud to announce that Senior Art Director Yoshihiro Kono has been selected as a juror for the Design Lions, and Maiya Kinoshita, Creative Director at TBWA\Media Arts Lab Tokyo, has been appointed as a juror for the Film Lions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2026.

 

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the world’s most prestigious benchmark for creative excellence, and the jurors chosen are some of industry’s most respected professionals, recognized for their insight, experience, and ability to define the future of global branding and communications.

 

This announcement follows the earlier appointment of Kazoo Sato, CEO/CCO of Earth Centric Design Lab (ECD) — a subsidiary of TBWA\HAKUHODO — as the Jury President for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Lions, making him the first Japanese creative to hold this distinguished position. With the addition of Kono and Kinoshita, a total of three representatives from the TBWA\HAKUHODO collective will contribute to defining new global creative benchmarks at this year’s festival.

 

Cannes Lions 2026 Jurors

 

Yoshihiro Kono 
Senior Art Director, TBWA\HAKUHODO Jury: Design Lions

Yoshihiro Kono is a Senior Art Director at TBWA\HAKUHODO. From 2018 to 2019, he honed his global expertise on secondment at TBWA\Melbourne. His work spans a diverse range of disciplines, including advertising, branding, product design, and television art direction. Yoshihiro has received numerous domestic and international accolades, including Cannes Lions Gold, LIA Gold, ADFEST Grand Prix, AD STARS Grand Prix, Red Dot, and ACC Gold. He also served as a juror for the Young Cannes Lions Design category from 2024 to 2026. Deeply committed to social issues, he is also actively involved in pro-bono work focused on global peace.

 

Comment: “I am deeply honored to serve as a juror for the Design Lions at Cannes Lions 2026. I look forward to evaluating history-making designs alongside the world’s most brilliant talent. I hope to see and experience work that demonstrates the true power of design to move society and the world.”

 

Maiya Kinoshita 
Creative Director, TBWA\Media Arts Lab Tokyo Jury: Film Lions

Maiya Kinoshita is one of the few truly bilingual, bicultural, award-winning female creative directors in Japan, nurtured by the wit of Osaka and the sunshine of California. Currently at TBWA\Media Arts Lab Tokyo, she serves as creative director for all Apple advertising. Before joining MAL Tokyo, Maiya spent a decade at Dentsu, Japan’s largest ad agency, where she integrated PR practices into classic and innovative advertising platform. Her recent works include “Shot on iPhone — Last Scene” (Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda), “Shot on iPhone — Midnight” (Directed by Takashi Miike), as well as “Mac for Students”. She is also a standup comedian regularly performing at Tokyo Comedy Bar.

 

Comment: “It is a great honor and an absolute delight to serve on the Film Lions Jury. I’m excited to play a part in shaping new benchmarks for our creative industry—especially during this transformative moment with AI—and within the oldest category at Cannes Lions.”

 

Cannes Lions 2026 Jury President (SDGs Lions)

Kazoo Sato 
CEO/CCO, Earth Centric Design Lab (ECD)

Born in 1973, Kazoo Sato joined TBWA\HAKUHODO in September 2010. In October 2024, he established the Earth Centric Design Lab to build sustainable creative systems. Kazoo has won hundreds of international creative awards, including multiple Cannes Lions, and has served as a juror and jury president at major festivals worldwide.