Accenture Song CEO David Droga has chosen to step down from day-to-day leadership at the end of the fiscal year and take on a broader strategic role across all of Accenture as vice chair.
Ndidi Oteh, who joined Accenture in 2011, is Accenture Song Americas lead, will step up and replace Droga in the role.
She 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 and experience lead and will also join Accenture’s GMC. His reputation as a leader and global design force has long been established.
Droga stepped into the role of CEO in 2021 and lead Accenture Interactive through a period of rapid growth and bold transformation, beginning with the unification of 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 $12.5 billion to $19 billion in revenue (fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2024).
The agency 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,” Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, said.
“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 of his decision: “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 that has been recognised with plenty of industry accolades over the years. The agency 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
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 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.
In 2012, Droga was named Global Australian of the Year by Advance.org 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.
Top image: David Droga