Latest news with #Droga
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
David Droga is stepping down as CEO of Accenture Song
Accenture announced on Wednesday that David Droga, CEO of its technology-focused creative group Accenture Song, will step down from his role in September. Droga will transition from his day-to-day leadership role into a broader strategic role as vice chair of Accenture. Spicy AI-generated TACO memes are taking over social media because 'Trump always chickens out' Lego's first book nook is an addictively interactive diorama Forget quiet quitting: I'm using 'loud living' to redefine workplace boundaries As part of the transition, Ndidi Oteh, who currently serves as the Americas lead for Accenture Song, will become the CEO of Accenture Song, the company said. He will also join Accenture's Global Management Committee. Meanwhile, Nick Law, current creative chairperson for Accenture Song, is set to become the creative strategy and experience lead. An award-winning creative executive, Droga founded his New York-based namesake advertising agency, Droga5, in 2006. Under his leadership, the creative agency won numerous awards for its innovative advertising campaigns. In 2019, Droga sold Droga5 to Accenture Song (formerly Accenture Interactive). The agency has offices in New York City, London, Dublin, Tokyo, and São Paulo. He became CEO of Accenture Song in 2021 after Accenture chair and CEO Julie Sweet asked him to step into the leadership role, as Sweet told Modern CEO in January. She saw the benefit of bringing his creative perspective to the leadership team. Droga's ideas helped to transform Accenture Song and accelerated the company's growth. As CEO, he introduced an operating model that merged creativity, design, technology, AI, data, and strategy into one connected platform. Droga spoke about how AI was transforming the advertising industry on Fast Company's Brand New World podcast in February. In a news release, Sweet described Droga as a 'once-in-a-generation creative leader and business builder' who has 'lived our core value of stewardship and has developed the next generation of leaders who will build an even better Song.' In today's company news release, Droga expressed appreciation and conveyed his optimism for the future of Accenture Song. 'With such extraordinary leadership in place, it felt like the right time,' he said. He also discussed his next chapter. '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.' Shares of Accenture Plc (NYSE: ACN) were flat in early trading on Wednesday. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter:
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
David Droga Steps Down as Accenture Song CEO; Ndidi Oteh to take charge
HighlightsDavid Droga transitions to Vice Chair at Accenture. Ndidi Oteh named new CEO of Accenture Song. Accenture Song sees significant growth under Droga's leadership. Accenture has announced that David Droga will step down from his role as chief executive officer of Accenture Song at the end of the fiscal year. He will transition to a broader strategic role as vice chair across all of Accenture. Ndidi Oteh , currently the Accenture Song Americas lead, will become CEO of Accenture Song on September 1, 2025. Oteh will also join Accenture's Global Management Committee (GMC). Nick Law will assume the role of Song creative strategy & experience lead. He will also join Accenture's GMC. Droga's decision to step down marks the end of a chapter defined by creative excellence and leadership. He assumed the CEO role in 2021. During his tenure, Droga led Accenture Interactive through a period of rapid growth and transformation. He unified over 40 acquisitions and groups under the name Accenture Song. He introduced a new operating model that integrated creativity, technology, design, AI, strategy, and data into one connected platform. He also assembled a leadership team. As Droga remarked recently in a podcast, 'We are in the business of scaling excellence to help our clients grow and stay relevant. You start by hiring experts, not generalists, and then build a culture of solving, not selling.' Within four years, Accenture Song grew from $12.5 billion to $19 billion in revenue (fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2024). It became the world's largest tech-powered creative company. Accenture Song also established tech-infused creativity as a core offering of Accenture. The company won Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity every year, I-COM Data Creativity Awards, Red Dot Design Awards, Webbys, and its first Emmy. Julie Sweet , chair and CEO of Accenture, said, "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. 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 expressed his gratitude and confidence in the new leadership: "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 impact spans across industries and continents. As the founder of Droga5, he created one of the most admired and influential creative companies. His agency earned 'Agency of the Year' honors more than 30 times. It was twice named 'Agency of the Decade' by Ad Age and Adweek. Droga5 became known for work that was original, culturally resonant, and creatively fearless. 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. These campaigns helped redefine what advertising could achieve in the digital age. Following its acquisition by Accenture in 2019, Droga5 became the creative cornerstone that evolved into Accenture Song. Droga reflected on his career stating, "I honestly could not be more grateful for my career and the opportunities I've had. 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. He received top honors 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. In 2012, Droga was named Global Australian of the Year by This recognition was for his contributions to business, culture, and international influence. He is the most awarded creative in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He is the youngest recipient of its lifetime achievement honor, the Lion of St. Mark, at age 47. He has been inducted into multiple halls of fame globally. He is widely considered one of the defining architects of modern marketing. He was among the first to champion viral, social, and earned media as central tenets of brand building. His work is studied in classrooms and boardrooms. It is featured in Harvard Business School curriculum. It is also included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Oteh has been a trusted partner to many of the largest and most innovative Fortune 500 companies since joining Accenture in 2011. She has led complex digital transformations and consumer growth strategies. Droga's tenure as CEO was marked by significant growth and transformation. He unified numerous acquisitions under the Accenture Song banner. He also introduced a new operating model that integrated various disciplines. This model included creativity, technology, design, AI, strategy, and data. His leadership led to substantial revenue growth and industry recognition. Accenture Song became the world's largest tech-powered creative company.
Business Wire
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
David Droga to Step Down as Accenture Song CEO, Appointed Accenture Vice Chair
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today announced that after a transformative tenure as chief executive officer of Accenture Song, David Droga has chosen to step down from day-to-day leadership of Accenture Song at the end of the fiscal year and take on a broader strategic role across all of Accenture as vice chair. On September 1, 2025, Ndidi Oteh will become CEO of Accenture Song. Oteh is currently the Accenture Song Americas lead. 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). Nick Law will become the new Song creative strategy & experience lead and will also join Accenture's GMC. His reputation as a leader and global design force has long been established. For Droga—who is widely recognized as one of the most influential creative leaders of the 21 st century—his decision to pass the torch marks the close of an extraordinary chapter in a storied career defined by creative excellence, leadership at scale and an enduring commitment to positive progress and stewardship. Since assuming the CEO role in 2021, Droga's impact was immediate, as he led Accenture Interactive through a period of rapid growth and bold transformation. 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. As Droga remarked on the 'Masters of Scale' podcast, 'We are in the business of scaling excellence to help our clients grow and stay relevant. You start by hiring experts, not generalists, and then build a culture of solving, not selling.' Within only four years, Song became the world's largest tech-powered creative company, growing from $12.5 billion to $19 billion in revenue (fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2024). 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. "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 impact across industries and continents is remarkable and enduring. As the founder of Droga5, he created one of the most admired and influential creative companies of the modern era. His eponymous agency earned 'Agency of the Year' honors more than 30 times and was twice named 'Agency of the Decade' by Ad Age and Adweek. It became known for work that was original, culturally resonant, and creatively fearless. 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. These and many others helped redefine what advertising could be and should achieve in the digital age. Following its acquisition by Accenture in 2019, Droga5 became the creative cornerstone that would evolve into Accenture Song. "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 honors 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. In 2012, Droga was named Global Australian of the Year by for his contributions to business, culture, and international influence. He is the most awarded creative in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the youngest recipient of its lifetime achievement honor, the Lion of St. Mark, at age 47. He has been inducted into multiple halls of fame globally and is widely considered one of the defining architects of modern marketing. He was among the first to champion viral, social, and earned media as central tenets of brand building. His work is studied in classrooms and boardrooms, featured in Harvard Business School curriculum, and included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. About Accenture Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world's leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 801,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world's leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at
The Age
02-05-2025
- General
- The Age
Rave venue to Wabi-sabi: Imperfect makeover for trendy Surry Hills pad
The Japanese call it Wabi-sabi, the art of imperfection. Architect Oliver Du Puy has perfected a touch of that sensibility in a gutted apartment in Sydney's trendy Surry Hills. 'There's beauty in imperfections that creates a sense of timelessness,' says Du Puy, pointing out some of the finishes, such as the micro cement, in the walls of the two-bedroom pad. Having worked in Japan, Du Puy acknowledges his views are shaped by architect Kazuo Shinohara, who declared 'a house is a work of art'. Set across an entire 220 square metre level, the residence sits below the award-winning Droga apartment, a sinuous structure clad in aluminium tiles designed by Durbach Block Jaggers and completed in 1997 that is now considered a landmark in the hood. Du Puy's footprint, occupying the early 20th-century building below, is far more recessive, with steel-framed windows set into the brown bricks. 'The building itself has a colourful history, including being used as a squat for a number of years and, from what I'm told, this apartment was scene to a number of rave parties,' says Du Puy. Before being gutted, the space was used by a creative agency which carved up the original detailing and internal areas with a series of partitions. Loading False ceilings concealed the chunky concrete beams and the octagonal 700-millimetre-wide concrete columns, masked in plaster, thought to be the work of the eminent civil engineer Sir John Monash, were discovered in the renovation. 'I've always been drawn to the pure elements in a space,' says Du Puy, keen to express the structure rather than add superfluous detail. Hence, the original 100-year-old jarrah floors were simply buffed and the structure, columns and beams were cleaned up and the graffiti removed. The kitchen is discreetly located to one side of the open-plan dining and living area, with a Calacatta marble island bench thoughtfully positioned between two octagonal columns. A bank of stainless-steel joinery, including a splashback, further allows the structure of the interior to be expressed – concealing everything from the fridge and pantry to the wine fridge.
Sydney Morning Herald
02-05-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rave venue to Wabi-sabi: Imperfect makeover for trendy Surry Hills pad
The Japanese call it Wabi-sabi, the art of imperfection. Architect Oliver Du Puy has perfected a touch of that sensibility in a gutted apartment in Sydney's trendy Surry Hills. 'There's beauty in imperfections that creates a sense of timelessness,' says Du Puy, pointing out some of the finishes, such as the micro cement, in the walls of the two-bedroom pad. Having worked in Japan, Du Puy acknowledges his views are shaped by architect Kazuo Shinohara, who declared 'a house is a work of art'. Set across an entire 220 square metre level, the residence sits below the award-winning Droga apartment, a sinuous structure clad in aluminium tiles designed by Durbach Block Jaggers and completed in 1997 that is now considered a landmark in the hood. Du Puy's footprint, occupying the early 20th-century building below, is far more recessive, with steel-framed windows set into the brown bricks. 'The building itself has a colourful history, including being used as a squat for a number of years and, from what I'm told, this apartment was scene to a number of rave parties,' says Du Puy. Before being gutted, the space was used by a creative agency which carved up the original detailing and internal areas with a series of partitions. Loading False ceilings concealed the chunky concrete beams and the octagonal 700-millimetre-wide concrete columns, masked in plaster, thought to be the work of the eminent civil engineer Sir John Monash, were discovered in the renovation. 'I've always been drawn to the pure elements in a space,' says Du Puy, keen to express the structure rather than add superfluous detail. Hence, the original 100-year-old jarrah floors were simply buffed and the structure, columns and beams were cleaned up and the graffiti removed. The kitchen is discreetly located to one side of the open-plan dining and living area, with a Calacatta marble island bench thoughtfully positioned between two octagonal columns. A bank of stainless-steel joinery, including a splashback, further allows the structure of the interior to be expressed – concealing everything from the fridge and pantry to the wine fridge.
