June 27, 2022
Across four days of invigorating conversations at Cannes, Bloomberg Media ESG House convened some of today’s most influential leaders and creatives across media, entertainment, wealth, sustainability, advertising and technology. The programming showcased Bloomberg Media’s commitment to help business leaders think boldly about their societal impact and provide the tools to accelerate purposeful solutions and drive progress.
Stephen Colvin, Chief Commercial Officer at Bloomberg Media, said: “This week, some of the world’s most influential cultural leaders impacting the businesses of sustainability, equality, wealth and tech engaged with us in a way that felt uniquely Bloomberg. Seeing the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kal Penn, Coodie & Chike participating on our stage in Cannes may have felt a little new and different to some watching, but it perfectly encapsulates what our brand can do and is increasingly capable of as we grow. We were intentional with our range of programming to accelerate conversations around ESG topics and hope audiences gained insight to help push business and culture forward.”
Here are some highlights from each day:
June 20, 2022: Day One
Bloomberg Media CMO Anne Kawalerski and a group of industry leaders explored the rising priority of ESG in Marketing and Communications in a CMO workshop. That was followed by a Bloomberg CityLab panel that explored the ways that brands are innovating their product pipelines, marketing strategies, customer engagement strategies, and go-to-market approaches with a purpose, to encourage positive behaviors and drive global progress. Panelists included: Benjamin Braun (Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung Europe), Mark Curtis (Head of Innovation, Accenture Song), Cristina Kenz (Chief Growth and Sustainability Officer, Kraft Heinz International) and Claire Valoti (Vice President, EMEA, Snap). The day concluded with a fireside chat with the producers of the Kanye West documentary “jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy,” Coodie & Chike, moderated by Quicktake anchor Madison Mills.
June 21, 2022: Day Two
Bloomberg Green announced a new slate of features including a new Quicktake show, “Getting Warmer with Kal Penn”, hosted by actor and former White House aide, Kal Penn premiering this Fall; a new podcast, “Zero”, hosted by Bloomberg Green senior reporter, Akshat Rathi; updated areas of climate coverage; and the inaugural Green Docs competition in Los Angeles.
Kal Penn sat on the Bloomberg Green panel with sustainability leaders from Ford, IKEA and P&G, to discuss uncovering the role that business can play across technology, design, marketing, and supply chain to drive scale, appeal, and access to sustainable living.
“I’m very excited about this partnership because the approach to the storytelling is hopeful. No disrespect to the doom and gloom type docuseries–we need those and we need to be held accountable for everything that we do–but I’m particularly interested in forward thinking and highlighting solutions…So this just seemed like a show that had that approach to tackling a lot of climate questions, so I’m excited about that.” – Kal Penn on new Bloomberg Quicktake series, “Getting Warmer with Kal Penn”
Watch the Bloomberg Green panel here.
Ryan Reynolds discussed his newly announced nonprofit “The Creative Ladder” on a panel about representation in creativity.
“I love making ads and want to help make sure talent of all backgrounds have the access and information they need to succeed. Ads are just another form of storytelling, and a more representative workforce will only make this industry stronger and enable it to tell better stories.” – Ryan Reynolds
Day two also included Bloomberg Equality: Women Leadership in Male-Dominated Industries. We spotlighted female C-Suite leaders across industries traditionally dominated by men – including Kate Jhaveri (Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, National Basketball Association), Anne Kawalerski (Global Chief Marketing Officer, Bloomberg Media), Sarah Personette (Chief Customer Officer, Twitter), and Tara Rush (Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Audi of America) – and learned from them about the challenges they’ve overcome, their strategies for success, and how they are driving progress within their company and the industry at large.
“We’re not just measuring the diversity of our workplace today, but we’re setting goals for what that looks like in the future. I think all of us put focus on diverse slates and bringing on really great diverse talent, but we also measure how we’re doing by bringing women and people of color through their experience at the league and getting them opportunities for new roles and new experiences.” – Kate Jhaveri
June 22, 2022: Day Three
The Bloomberg Equality x Ebony panelists shared expertise and solutions around encouraging diversity across the ranks in media, from giving creators ownership and autonomy to accelerating minority representation and visibility in media leadership. Panelists included: Tracee Ellis Ross (Actress, Producer and Chief Executive Officer, PATTERN Beauty), Coodie & Chike (Cinematographers & Producers), Marielle Bobo (Editor In Chief and Senior Vice President of Programming, EBONY), Elise James-DeCruise (Chief Equity Officer, Ad Council) and Samuel Etienne (Reporter and Producer, Bloomberg News).
“If that company is going to be willing in those difficult moments, in those things that inevitably come up, because we’re all learning how to do this, that they’re are willing to be in communication and partnership and dialog about how to remedy whatever might have been a problem, how to actually take accountability.” – Tracee Ellis Ross
“We want a powerful narrative to shape, I just want to make sure that for the next generation that we can set the stage for them to be seen and be heard and their voices amplified.” – Elise James-DeCruise
Watch the Bloomberg Equality x EBONY panel here.
June 23: Day Four
On the final day at Bloomberg Media ESG House, Bloomberg Media Chief Executive Officer M. Scott Havens interviewed Accenture Song CEO David Droga.
“90% of C-suite talk about how they can’t keep up with the change in the lives of their customers or employees. So they need big, big thinkers, not just the imagination of people like myself but the intelligence of our data and analytics, the tech brains. The capabilities of that. That for me is, the alchemy is unlimited.” – David Droga
