David Droga is to step down as CEO of Accenture Song.
One of Australia’s most celebrated creatives, Droga has been with Accenture since 2019 when his eponymous creative agency, Droga5, was sold to the consulting firm. He was appointed Accenture Song’s CEO and creative chairman in 2021.
Now, Droga will be handing the day-to-day reins to Ndidi Oteh, Accenture Song’s Americas lead. Droga will become Accenture’s vice chair, meaning he will work across the entire business, not just Accenture Song.
Since joining Accenture in 2011, Oteh has been a trusted partner to many of the largest and most innovative Fortune 500 companies, leading complex digital transformations and consumer growth strategies. Oteh will also join Accenture’s Global Management Committee (GMC).
Droga’s fellow Australian Nick Law will become the new Song creative strategy & experience lead and will also join Accenture’s GMC.
“David Droga has long been a singular force and a once-in-a-generation creative leader and business builder and he has lived our core value of stewardship and has developed the next generation of leaders who will build an even better Song,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture.
“He brings humanity, imagination, clarity, and confidence to everything he touches and helps redefine how businesses grow and connect. His brilliance is matched only by his generosity, integrity, and belief in others. As Accenture’s vice chair, his legacy and impact will continue for our people, our work, and our purpose.”
Droga said, “It has been a privilege to be part of so many missions and cultures around the world. With such extraordinary leadership in place, it felt like the right time. I could not be more confident that Ndidi, Sean and Nick will continue building on Song’s legacy of innovation, creativity, and performance. I am also deeply grateful for Julie Sweet’s trust, our partnership, and what will be an enduring friendship.”
Droga’s work with Accenture has been remarkable, as has much of his career. He started by unifying over 40 acquisitions and groups under the name Accenture Song, and introduced a new operating model that integrated creativity, technology, design, AI, strategy and data into one connected platform. He also assembled a leadership team that became the envy of every holding company and consultancy firm.
Within only four years, Song became the world’s largest tech-powered creative company, growing from US$12.5 billion to US$19 billion in revenue as of August last year. It also established tech-infused creativity as another core offering of Accenture, winning Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity every year, I-COM Data Creativity Awards, Red Dot Design Awards, Webbys and even its first Emmy.
Among his most iconic campaigns were those for The New York Times, the British Army, Under Armour, Marc Ecko, Meta, Game of Thrones, UNICEF, Amazon, the NSPCC, Puma, the New York City Department of Education, Tourism Australia, JAY-Z, JPMorgan Chase and Coinbase.
“I honestly could not be more grateful for my career and the opportunities I’ve had,” Droga added. “The people who believed in me, the talent I’ve worked alongside, the clients we’ve served, the trust, the ambition, the camaraderie, it’s all part of me. After 30-plus years of leaping, I am ready to catch my breath. And being vice chair will allow me to do that, but also to contribute in new ways. I am also excited to spend more time suffixing: Thinking, daydreaming, advising, investing, giving, mentoring, exploring, learning, playing, appreciating, family-ing, sleeping-in-ing.”
Droga began his career in Australia at the age of 18 after receiving top honours at the Australian Writers and Art Directors School. By 22, he was executive creative director of the country’s leading agency. He went on to lead award-winning agencies across Asia and Europe before founding Droga5 in New York in 2006. The agency was named after a laundry tag his mother sewed into his clothes at boarding school.
Last year, it was announced that another fellow Australian, Mark Green, was to become global CEO of Droga5, after leading The Monkeys to become B&T’s Agency of the Decade in 2019.
