Jump to content

David Droga

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Droga
Born
David Bjorn Droga

1968 or 1969 (age 57–58)[1]
Australia
EducationThe King's School
OccupationBusinessperson

David Bjorn Droga is an Australian businessperson and advertising executive, currently the vice chair of Accenture. He is the founder of the advertising agency Droga5. Droga5 was acquired by Accenture Interactive in 2019 and Droga was named Chief Executive Officer in August 2021. Droga renamed Accenture Interactive to Accenture Song in 2022. In September 2025, Droga stepped down as CEO of Accenture Song, continuing as vice chair of the broader organization.

Early life and education

[edit]

David Bjorn Droga was born in Australia.[1][2] He was raised in rural New South Wales, as the fifth of six children. His father was of Polish descent and operated the Perisher Ski Resort,[3] and his mother was a Danish artist and poet.[1][2] Droga was raised in a media-free family, with no TV or advertising.[3]

He attended the Tudor House School in Moss Vale, followed by The King's School, Parramatta in the Sydney suburb of North Parramatta.[3]

Droga began working in the mailroom at Grey Advertising, before attending the Australian Writer and Art Directors School in 1987.[4][5]

Career

[edit]

Droga was hired by FCB as a copywriter, from the Australian Writer and Art Directors School.[6] A few months later, Droga left the company and joined startup OMON in Sydney.[6] Droga became a Partner and Executive Creative Director of OMON.[7][8]

Droga joined Saatchi & Saatchi in his mid-20s, working from Singapore as the egional executive creative director of Saatchi Asia. He later became the creative head in London in 1999.[9][10][11] In 2000, Publicis Groupe acquired Saatchi.[12] Droga became the global chief creative officer of Publicis in 2003.[13][11]

Droga founded the advertising agency Droga5 in 2006. In 2013, he sold 49 percent of the business to William Morris Endeavor for $225 million.[14][15][16] An early Droga5 marketing idea, the UNICEF Tap Project, was listed as the fifteenth best of the 21st century by Adweek.[17][18] Droga received the Lion of St. Mark in 2017, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity's lifetime achievement award, for "outstanding contributions to the creative community".[19] Droga sold Droga5 to Accenture (via Accenture Interactive) in 2019.[20][21] Fast Company said the acquisition was "easily the highest profile deal the ad industry has seen in recent memory".[22] In 2021, he became the chief executive officer (CEO) and creative chairman of Accenture Interactive, which became known as Accenture Song in 2022.[23] During his tenure approximately 40 agencies were integrated into Accenture Song,[24][25] including Karmarama and Rothco.[26] He stepped down as CEO of Accenture Song in September 2025, continuing as vice chair of Accenture.[27][28]

Other roles and activities

[edit]

As of 2017 Droga was on the board of New York's New Museum.[2]

Personal life

[edit]

Droga married a film producer in Thailand in 1998, and they have four children.[3][29]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Profile: Dave Droga". Campaign. 31 March 2003.
  2. ^ a b c Ringen, Jonathan (15 June 2017). "Advertising Superstar David Droga Knows How To Get In Your Head". Fast Company.
  3. ^ a b c d Stewart, Cameron (21 January 2022). "How did David Droga become the world's most powerful adman?". The Australian. News Corp Australia. ISSN 1038-8761.
  4. ^ "David Droga". Adweek. 22 July 2002.
  5. ^ "A step back in time – 30 years of great advertising". www.adnews.com.au. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b "PROFILE: Dave Droga". Campaign Live. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2022. David Bjorn Droga, the product of a mad hippie Danish mother and a Jewish businessman father, greets me at the door of his three-storey house in London's fashionable Notting Hill.
  7. ^ "ADC Hall of Fame Awards". ADC. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  8. ^ Shaw, Adam. "David Droga Executive Chairman at Droga5". bestadsontv.com. Best Ads on TV.
  9. ^ Wentz, Laurel. "The Player: Droga to lead creative revival as Publicis makes itself over". Ad Age. Crain Communications. ISSN 0001-8899.
  10. ^ "Profile: Dave Droga". Campaign. 31 March 2003.
  11. ^ a b Stewart, Cameron (21 January 2022). "How did David Droga become the world's most powerful adman?". The Australian. News Corp Australia. ISSN 1038-8761.
  12. ^ "Publicis to buy Saatchi for $1.9 billion – Jun. 20, 2000". money.cnn.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  13. ^ Ringen, Jonathan (15 June 2017). "Advertising Superstar David Droga Knows How To Get In Your Head". Fast Company.
  14. ^ Ringen, Jonathan (15 June 2017). "Advertising Superstar David Droga Knows How To Get In Your Head". Fast Company.
  15. ^ Vega, Tanzina (11 July 2013). "William Morris to Invest in Droga5, an Ad Agency". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Griner, David (3 April 2019). "Timeline: The Bold Work That Made Droga5 an Iconic Independent Agency". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Top 15 ad campaigns of the 21st century: Winners: UNICEF: Tap Project". Ad Age.
  18. ^ Elliott, Stuart (17 November 2006). "An Honor for Creativity Fuels Odes to Tap Water". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  19. ^ Richards, Katie (29 March 2017). "David Droga Will Receive the Cannes Lions' Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lion of St. Mark".
  20. ^ Maheshwari, Sapna (3 April 2019). "Accenture Is Buying Droga5, an Ad Agency, Making a Bet on Creativity". The New York Times.
  21. ^ Etzel, Natasha (28 May 2025). "David Droga is stepping down as CEO of Accenture Song". Fast Company.
  22. ^ "Why Accenture Interactive buying ad agency Droga5 is such a big deal". Fast Company. 3 April 2019.
  23. ^ Matlins, Seth (26 April 2022). "A New Melody: Accenture Interactive Becomes Accenture Song". Forbes.
  24. ^ Nudd, Tim (19 June 2025). "David Droga on 37 game-changing campaigns from his 37 years in advertising". Ad Age. He engineered a massive brand overhaul that united 40-some Accenture agencies under a single entity with the Song banner.
  25. ^ Bonilla, Brian (28 May 2025). "David Droga to step down as CEO of Accenture Song". Ad Age. Since taking the helm, he has led Accenture Interactive through a major transformation by unifying over 40 acquisitions and groups under the name Accenture Song.
  26. ^ Scotto di Santolo, Alessandra (15 October 2024). "'Creative people make the world worth living in': David Droga on advertising's future". Campaign. By late 2023 Droga had restructured the business into four main practice areas: marketing; design and digital products; commerce; and customer service
  27. ^ Bonilla, Brian (28 May 2025). "David Droga on his decision to step down as CEO of Accenture Song and what's next". Ad Age.
  28. ^ Deighton, Katie (29 May 2025). "Droga Steps Down as CEO of Accenture Song, the Marketing Unit He Helped Build at Consulting Giant". The Wall Street Journal.
  29. ^ Tranter, Kirsten (26 September 2014). "David Droga: the message man". Sydney Morning Herald.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Droga&oldid=1353460059"