The body will compromise 20 chief marketing officers from "the world’s biggest brands", although the identities of the marketers are yet to be revealed.
The first gathering to be held at this summer’s Cannes Lions festival, followed by a half-day programme of events exclusively put on for council members. Subsequent meetings will take place during the year, including at the ANA’s annual conference.
Cannes Lions-owner Ascential said the new council would "frame the future growth agenda for brands on the global stage", and support the international community of chief marketing officers with a "first-of-its-kind" leadership agenda.
Pritchard said he had "high hopes" for what the council can achieve: "CMOs all over the world are facing similar growth challenges and opportunities. The CMO Growth Council offers an important platform for marketing leaders from around the world to discuss, collaborate and take actions to help drive the entire industry forward."
Cannes Lions last year launched an advisory committee "to help shape the future of the festival", in the wake of criticism from WPP and Omnicom, and Publicis Groupe’s high-profile decision to pull out of the 2018 event as part of a 12-month moratorium on industry marketing.
Some of the industry's most senior marketers gave "commitments" to be involved, including Keith Weed, chief marketing and communications officer of Unilever; Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer of Procter & Gamble; Fernando Machado, head of brand marketing at Burger King; Fiona Carter, chief brand officer at AT&T; and Jan Derck van Karnebeek, chief commercial officer at Heineken.
However, according to a Cannes Lions spokesman, the CMO Growth Council is unrelated to the advisory committee set up last summer, and instead will focus on an "agenda for business growth", including topics such as creativity and brand Excellence, talent development, brand purpose and gender equality.
Last year, Ascential revealed a newly-shortened format for Cannes Lions, lasting five days from Monday 18 to Friday 22 June, as well as a "simplification" of its awards structure.
