Droga5 names co-chief creative officers across Australia and New Zealand

Accenture Song’s Droga5 has appointed Barbara Humphries and Damon Stapleton as co-chief creative officers across Australia and New Zealand, as part of a broader global restructure to strengthen the agency’s creative leadership.

The leadership change follows the promotion of Tara Ford, previously chief creative officer of Droga5 Australia, to the role of chief creative officer of Droga5 London. Ford’s move marks the next step in the agency’s ambition to build a globally connected creative network, following its rebrand from The Monkeys to Droga5 ANZ last year.

Humphries, previously executive creative director at Droga5 Australia, and Stapleton, formerly chief creative officer of Droga5 Aotearoa, will now jointly lead creative operations across the Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland offices. They will report to Matt Michael, CEO of Droga5 ANZ.

The appointments come amid a creative restructure at Droga5 to reposition the global agency network for its next phase of growth under global CEO Mark Green. The agency recently expanded its global footprint, including rebranding The Monkeys to Droga5 ANZ and acquiring Brazilian agency SOKO.

“It is always great to see people you have worked with closely for many years take on new challenges,” Green said. “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.”

Humphries and Stapleton bring significant creative firepower to the new roles. Humphries has worked closely with Ford over recent years, helping to deliver some of the agency’s most awarded work, including the Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix-winning ‘The First Digital Nation’ for the Tuvaluan Government and the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix-winning ‘Play It Safe’ for the Sydney Opera House. She was recently ranked #1 ECD in APAC in the One Show Global Creative Rankings and named AWARD Creative Leader of the Year alongside Ford.

Stapleton joined Droga5 Aotearoa in 2022, having previously held creative leadership roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and DDB. He has worked with some of the world’s best-known brands, including McDonald’s, Toyota and Adidas, and has collected more than 500 international creative awards throughout his career, including two D&AD Black Pencils and 70 Cannes Lions.

Humphries said she was excited to work with Stapleton and the broader ANZ team in the next chapter of Droga5’s creative leadership. “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,” she said.

Stapleton added: “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.”

Ford’s appointment in London is the latest in a series of moves designed to drive Droga5’s creative capability globally. Under her leadership, Droga5 ANZ achieved international recognition, topping the global creative rankings at Cannes, D&AD and The One Show. She was named Creative Leader of the Year by both AWARD and Campaign Asia in 2023.

“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,” Ford said.

The new leadership structure follows significant growth for Droga5 worldwide, with the network now comprising more than 1,000 people across New York, London, Dublin, São Paulo, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.