At Cannes Lions 2025, a powerful conversation unfolded featuring three global CMOs: Cecília Alegria (Heineken Brazil), Arnaud Belloni (Renault), and Gugu Mhlungu (Telkom South Africa). Moderated by Sophie Devonshire of The Marketing Society, this session celebrated creativity, leadership, and the evolving role of CMOs in an era of transformation and cultural change.
🔑 What Makes a Great CMO in 2025?
Each leader shared their “tweet-sized” definition of a great CMO:
- Gugu (Telkom): Brand guide, culture curator, growth architect.
- Arnaud (Renault): Creative. Brave. Bold.
- Cecília (Heineken): Collaborative. Adaptive. Fearless.
🚀 Key Business Goals
- Renault aims to become the coolest car brand in Europe, focusing on desirability and brand relevance.
- Telkom is rebranding a legacy telecom giant with a renewed purpose for cultural resonance and national relevance.
- Heineken Brazil is reinventing the role of beer in modern social contexts, especially with changing drinking habits and a rising interest in 0.0 products.
💡 Creativity as a Core Business Driver
Arnaud reminded attendees that while data and science dominate today’s marketing jargon, creative storytelling is what truly drives brand love. His advice to young marketers? “Break the rules.”
Cecília doubled down on the need for creative courage by sharing how she fought to retain a critical emotional moment in Heineken’s Ayrton Senna tribute campaign, pushing stakeholders and even securing funding from Globo to include racing rival Alain Prost in the final cut.
📈 Marketing = Business Growth
Gugu highlighted the importance of aligning brand KPIs with business performance, infrastructure quality, and customer experience. Her approach? Systems thinking — connecting every department to marketing outcomes.
She also shared how bringing data science inside the marketing team helped transform insights into real growth opportunities, not just analytics dashboards.
💥 The CMO as Innovation Catalyst
All three CMOs agreed: marketing must lead innovation, not just support it.
Cecília stressed that true innovation must fit within a brand’s portfolio and meet real consumer needs. “Innovation cannot be peripheral — it’s part of the core strategy,” she said.
❤️ Human Leadership & Resilience
On navigating pressure, Cecília emphasized leading with empathy and authenticity, breaking free from outdated command-and-control styles.
Gugu shared her personal method for maintaining energy: “The power of a full pause.” Whether it’s a daily walk, weekend wine, or monthly spa day, intentional rest fuels long-term creative performance.
✨ Final Thoughts
This panel reinforced that today’s CMO is more than a marketer — they are business architects, culture-makers, and fearless storytellers. In a world obsessed with data and speed, these leaders reminded us that brand love, creativity, and human connection remain the heart of marketing.
As Cecília put it best, quoting her personal motto inspired by Che Guevara:
“You must toughen up, but never lose your tenderness.”
