Cannes Lions has named Chloe Gottlieb, EVP, U.S. chief creative officer of R/GA, as the ambassador of this year’s See It Be It program, taking over from last year’s lead, Madonna Badger, CCO, Badger & Winters. Badger will continue to be involved with the project in the role of chair, in a three-year appointment.

Now in its fifth year, See It Be It is a career development and acceleration program for women in the creative communications industry who face diversity challenges and want to lead the way for change. Louise Benson, executive See It Be It lead for Cannes Lions, said, “Over the course of See It Be It history, we’ve had incredible responses from women applying to participate along with senior leaders offering their time and experience. Chloe is a shining example of the type of leader we strive to emulate, a truly talented creative leader who values mentoring and sharing her experience to foster others to become leaders.”

As ambassador, Gottlieb’s role will be to lead the group of highly talented women through a curated program of executive training, exclusive seminars, a dedicated mentorship and to provide insights and guidance throughout the process. Gottlieb commented, “It’s such a privilege to be named this year’s See It Be It ambassador. I have had the opportunity to attend See It Be It events with Madonna and have been blown away by how powerful the program is. It’s an amazing opportunity for these hugely talented women to recognize and realize their own potential as creative leaders in the industry and develop a network of people who can support them to move forward while inspiring others.”

The See It Be It chair is a new position to help steer the course of the initiative and guide its evolution. For a three-year tenure, Badger will act as spokesperson and advocate for the program. Through her involvement as 2017 ambassador and her advocacy for objectification criteria in the Cannes Lions judging process, Badger can provide expert guidance and advocacy to ultimately get to a point where gender parity is reached and the program is no longer required.

Badger said, “Being a part of See It Be It last year was such a wonderful experience. I had the privilege to meet incredible women who I truly believe can, and will, go forward and drive real change in the industry. It feels like a groundswell of change is occurring globally across a range of diversity issues and as the chair of See It Be It, I’m committed to being an advocate for progressing that change.”

Louise Benson, Cannes Lions executive lead for See It Be It, shared, “In recruiting a chair we wanted someone with a passion to change the ratio, the ability to lead and a prominent voice within the industry. We’re confident that in appointing Madonna we have found someone with all of these qualities and having been involved with See It Be It previously she also has first-hand understanding of the initiative.”

Building on the success of a series of global See It Be It events run throughout 2017, Badger will join Gottlieb and guests on February 28 at the R/GA offices. The free-to-attend events are an introduction to the See It Be It community and provide some key insights into leadership and confidence.

Potential candidates interested in being part of See It Be It 2018 should visit here to find out more about the program and how to apply. Applications open on February 12 with the final deadline for submitting on March 16.