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# Cannes Podcast: Craig Buchholz on the PR Grand Prix, the CCO's rise and more
- URL: https://www.earned-first.com/cannes-podcast-craig-buchholz-on-the-pr-grand-prix-the-ccos-rise-and-more/
- Published: 2026-07-01T07:28:28.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-01T07:28:28.000Z
- Description: The Burson US CEO speaks to Earned First at Cannes Lions 2026, the morning after the agency's PR Grand Prix win.
- Author: Arun Sudhaman
- Tags: Earned First Podcast, Cannes

Craig Buchholz, US CEO of Burson, joins Earned First at Cannes Lions 2026 the day after the agency's Kit Kat Heist campaign won the PR Lions Grand Prix. He discusses what made it work: a crisis reframed as cultural opportunity, bravery as a prerequisite for award-winning ideas, and the "culture up" philosophy that sits at the heart of Burson's earned-first approach.  
  
The conversation also covered the CCO's evolving role in the C-suite: from brand protector to enterprise growth advisor, and the degree to which that elevation turns on individual relationships as much as institutional structure. Buchholz, a former CCO at both General Motors and Procter & Gamble, also addresses what it takes to keep a seat at the table once it's secured, the growing presence of investors and private equity at Cannes, and what it signals about where the communications industry is heading.

[Cannes: Burson's Craig Buchholz on the PR Grand Pr | RSS.com](https://rss.com/podcasts/earned-first/2953395/?ref=earned-first.com) 

The [Earned First Cannes podcast](https://www.earned-first.com/earned-first-podcast/) is produced by Reel Films. 

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