Droga5 Australia’s chief creative officer, Tara Ford, has upped sticks and moved to become the Accenture Song-owned agencies chief creative in London.
Ford will take on the creative helm, working closely alongside Droga5 London CEO Bill Scott and Chief Strategy Officer Will Hodge.
“I’ve had an amazing time at The Monkeys, now Droga5 ANZ, working with some exceptional talent but the opportunity to take on my next big challenge of Droga5 London was just too alluring. Droga5 ANZ is in great hands with Barb and Damon at the helm and I have no doubt the agency will flourish under their leadership,” said Ford.
Meanwhile, Droga5 ANZ ECD Barbara Humphries and Droga5 Aotearoa CCO Damon Stapleton will step into new roles as co-chief creative officers of Australia and New Zealand.
The pair will work in conjunction with Matt Michael, CEO of Droga5 ANZ.
Droga5 said the new ANZ creative line up is part of an “orchestrated creative restructure” to reinvent its worldwide offering and reposition the expanding global network for its new phase of growth and ambition under Droga5 global CEO Mark Green.
“I’m really proud of the recent momentum as part of The Monkeys, Song and now Droga5, and learning from a creative force like Tara over the past few years has been invaluable. Now, with the opportunity to bring together more of our talented people across three offices, partnering with the brilliant Damon Stapleton and long-time collaborator Matt, I’m super excited about the opportunities ahead of us,” said Humphries.
“Droga5 has always been a bastion of world-class creativity, and it makes me proud to be able to work with all the great and talented people of Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne to add to Droga5’s story. Having the larger playing field of Australia and New Zealand with so many more Lego pieces to push creativity forward is always going to be fun. On top of that, I get to partner with somebody as massively talented as Barb which makes that journey even more special. I look forward to great ideas and making great stuff,” added Stapleton.
Under Ford’s creative leadership Droga5 ANZ (formerly The Monkeys) has been recognised at all major international award shows, resulting in Agency of the Year accolades for both creativity and effectiveness, along with number one global rankings at Cannes, D&AD and One Show.
As ECD at Droga5, Humphries has worked closely with Ford, shaping the agency’s creative output, critically on high profile projects including the Cannes Lions Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix-winning ‘The First Digital Nation’ for the Tuvaluan Government and Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix-winning ‘Play It Safe’ for The Sydney Opera House.
As CCO of Droga5 Aotearoa, Stapleton has led a dynamic team delivering impactful campaigns for ASB Bank, No Ugly, Meridian Energy, Mazda, Asahi, and Kidscan. With 20-plus years of experience, he has worked with some of the world’s most recognised brands, including McDonald’s, Toyota, Cadbury and Adidas.
“It is always great to see people you have worked with closely for many years take on new challenges. With Tara moving to London, we didn’t hesitate to elevate Barb and Damon, and it felt like the perfect opportunity for everyone to advance their careers and bolster the creative pedigree of Droga5 globally,” said Green.
