HBO CEO named Media Person of the Year by Cannes Lions

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will honour HBO's chief executive officer Richard Plepler with the Media Person of the Year 2014 Award.

The annual award is given to a prominent personality who is an influential figure in the development of today's media landscape, ultimately playing an integral part in shaping the future of the global advertising and communications industry.

Previous recipients of the Media Person of the Year Award include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Google chairman Eric Schmidt and The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings chairman Tsuneo Watanabe.

Plepler is responsible for the overall management of the world's most successful pay-TV service.

Following mega-hits such as The Sopranos and Sex and the City, Plepler is credited with reinvigorating the network in partnership with Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, after green-lighting some of HBO's most acclaimed and successful series including True Blood, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, which rank among the top programmes in the network's history.

Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions said: "Under Richard's leadership, HBO has proven 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."

Plepler will receive the award on June 17 in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France.

He 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."

After graduating and joining the staff of Senator Christopher Dodd, Plepler founded RLP, his own consultancy specialising in strategic communication and production in 1985. He joined HBO in 1992 as senior vice-president of corporate communications. He took on his current role in 2013.