David Droga reviews his year as CEO of Accenture Song

(advertising age) – A little over a year ago, David Droga moved from the dealership he built on Wall Street to the 67th floor at 1 Manhattan West, the top floor of Accenture’s New York headquarters. In his new office, he was surrounded by murals of mysterious mountain ranges and the pieces that had moved from downtown: statues from his Aboriginal art collection, Thomas Hoebaker’s portrait of Muhammad Ali and his first major art purchase in 18 years paid with “all the money I had in the bank”, as you say.

Painter’s sculpture far sideGary Larson, is a 3D version of one of his comics that depicts a pair of spiders guarding a web at the foot of a playground slide. If we succeed we will eat like kingssays bar at the bottom.

The artwork can be a metaphor for the outsized ambitions that Droga has brought to every step of his career: to become a partner and chief creative officer in his Australian hometown of Aumon at the age of 22; Saatchi operating in Asia and London; Moving to the United States in 2003, at the age of 30, to become the Global Creative Director of Publicis Groupe; And he opened the doors of his own agency, Droga5, three years later.

“My character flaw is that I like the stress of things,” he says. I love the challenge of trying to prove something.”

That’s why he couldn’t resist the offer that surprised Accenture CEO Julie Sweet in August of last year: to become CEO and chief creative officer of Accenture Interactive, the digital agency arm of the consulting giant that took over his agency for just over $475 million. two years ago.

Early on, he told Sweet, “You don’t want a creative person in the output room,” says Droga, noting “I’m not a linear thinker. I move to another beat. I don’t like spikes. I like jumps. I’m not a process person.”

Sweet promised him that he would surround him with smart teammates who would support him as needed, and in less than a month, Droga made the leap.

“The diverse level of deep thought, sincerity and humility throughout Accenture is absolutely remarkable,” he says. Having a powerhouse like Julie Sweet helps out front. Perhaps he can think or act better than anyone else, but he does everything with refreshing calm. And there aren’t many other CEOs who have the kind of courage, faith, or faith to put a creative person in this position.”

Although he has had fleeting reservations about taking on the role, Droga strongly believes that the creators deserve a place at the top.

“If you inject it into the highest chair in an organization, it changes the tone of the conversations,” he explains. It’s not about beating MBAs and people with credible opinions and skills and great experience, it’s about adding another dimension. I think the world needs it. I believed it when I was on Droga5, and now I have the backing of real tech knowledge to build, manage, scale, innovate and innovate, rather than just making ideas that live in disposable media.

His goal is to get all the power of marketing, technology, data, and innovation working together to improve outcomes for customers, who are “now working at a different speed. Our main role is no longer just helping to grow: it is now about growth and connection.”