What is getting you up in the morning and what is keeping you awake at night in 2026? Personally, my dog, Momo, gets me up in the morning, but professionally, what excites me most is spending time with clients and our teams which service them. The best insights about where the market is heading come directly from those conversations. Clients are navigating extraordinary change, driven by AI, technology and evolving consumer expectations, and our role is to help them unlock growth in that environment. I wake and go to sleep thinking about how we drive the greatest impact for our clients and society, finding the best opportunities to help our clients grow in a world that is changing faster than ever. We are operating at a moment where technology, particularly AI, is reshaping how people discover, engage with, and experience brands. For me, that is energising. It creates the opportunity to empower our people to bring together creativity, media, data, technology and consultancy in new ways to solve real client challenges and create meaningful impact. What keeps me awake at night is whether we are moving fast enough to translate that opportunity into outcomes for our clients. In today’s environment, ideas alone are not enough. The real differentiator is our ability to execute at speed, with precision, and with deep relevance to our clients’ business goals. I also think a lot about ensuring we stay true to what matters most: being a genuine growth partner that drives impact. Clients need partners who can see the whole picture, simplify complexity, integrate capabilities and deliver results end-to-end. That responsibility is what drives both my excitement and my urgency. How do you turn creativity into a competitive advantage (when some in the industry appear to be putting less of a premium on it)? In the upcoming industry moment at Cannes Lions, that puts creativity in the spotlight, our view is simple: creativity is a multiplier of business value that extends far beyond advertising. For us, creativity is not confined to making communications or campaigns. It begins much earlier, with how we define a client’s challenge, frame an opportunity, and identify new possibilities for growth. That is why we see creativity not as the responsibility of a specific department, but as a mindset that should exist across the entire organisation. In a world where many capabilities are becoming increasingly accessible, creativity remains one of the most important sources of differentiation. It is also how we solve business challenges, design customer experiences and help clients unlock new opportunities for growth. The most powerful solutions often come from bringing together different perspectives, disciplines, and ways of thinking. The industry is evolving rapidly, with AI becoming embedded across every part of marketing, from insight generation to content production and optimisation. In that context, creativity is more important than ever. When production becomes easier, differentiation comes from ideas that truly connect with people. We see AI as a powerful partner in that process. It enables our teams to explore more ideas, faster; to personalize at scale without losing brand voice; and to spend more time where it matters most - on strategy, imagination, storytelling and craft. AI can accelerate execution, but it cannot replace human curiosity, judgement, and creativity. Crucially, everything we do is anchored in our clients’ needs. The strongest creative work is both distinctive and effective, grounded in insight, enabled by data, and delivered with precision. Ultimately, clients invest in creativity because it helps them solve problems in new ways, create meaningful connections with people, and drives impactful growth. That is how creativity becomes a true competitive advantage. How can people get future-fit for a career in this industry and what is your company doing to help your own people? AI is reshaping what great talent looks like. The most important shift to understand is that careers are no longer linear and defined by job titles, they are increasingly defined by skills. We firmly believe in AI x PI, where artificial intelligence must sit alongside people intelligence to drive the biggest outcomes. To be future-fit in our industry, three things really matter:First, curiosity and adaptability, the ability to continuously learn, because the tools and technologies will keep evolving. Second, creative thinking combined with data literacy. The future belongs to those who can interpret insight and turn it into ideas that truly resonate. Lastly, a strong sense of client-centricity and collaboration. This remains a relationship business. Understanding what drives client growth, identifying and solving real problems and working effectively across disciplines will always stand out. I often say that growth comes through other people. Learning from colleagues with different experiences and perspectives is one of the most powerful ways to build new capabilities. That is why we place such importance on bringing together diverse talent to a place where people can challenge, inspire and elevate one another. At Dentsu, we are focused on creating an environment where our people can build these capabilities every day. That means embedding AI into the way our teams work, so learning happens in the flow of real client work; encouraging collaboration across creativity, media, data, technology and consulting; and building a culture of continuous learning, rather than one-off training. We believe AI should enhance our people’s talents and capabilities, not replace them. The goal is to give our teams more time to think, to create, and to innovate on behalf of our clients. Ultimately, our responsibility as a company is to equip our people to succeed in a changing world and to ensure that their growth translates into growth for our clients. Takeshi Sano is president and chief executive of DentsuThis story first appeared on Campaign UK.