 "Cannes Lions 2014: HBO's Richard Plepler is Media Person of the Year")
This year’s edition of the Cannes Lions has named Richard Plepler, CEO of HBO as the Media Person of the Year. Each year, the organisers of the festival present this award to a prominent, influential figure in the development of the media landscape who is shaping the future of the global advertising and communications industry.
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Pleplar is HBO’s CEO. (image courtesy: AFP)[/caption]
Speaking about the development, Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions said, “Under Richard’s leadership, HBO has proved that reports of the death of television were extremely premature. By putting excellence in content first and last, and by creating highly acclaimed and award-winning shows, he has boosted audiences around the world whilst establishing a widespread and active international fan base. Cannes Lions is delighted to recognise Richard’s achievements and present him with the Media Person of the Year award.”
Commenting on the award, Plepler said, “I couldn’t be more honoured to accept this prestigious award on behalf of HBO. HBO has always stood for excellence and quality across all levels of our business both domestically and around the world. To join such a distinguished list of honourees and their great companies is a special privilege.”
He will be honoured with the Media Person of the Year award on Tuesday 17 June in the Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France.
Previous recipients of the Media Person of the Year Award include, Salar Kamangar, CEO of YouTube; Jack Dorsey, Creator, co-founder and executive chairman of Twitter; Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google; Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook; Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corporation; Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman and editor-in-chief of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings; and Sumner Redstone, Chairman and CEO of Viacom.
(Storyboard’s Pavni Mittal is going to be at Cannes Lions 2014, covering the Festival of Creativity as it happens. Follow @BrandStoryboard and Firstbiz.com/Brands for in-depth coverage, interviews with the jurors, conversations with advertising and marketing heads from all over the world, and more. Look out for our Cannes-special hashtag #StoryboardAtCannes, for news as it happens.)