David Droga builds his dream team

David Droga could be basking in the glory that Droga5 New York has earned in the last year. It was named Agency of the year by The One Club, Independent Agency of the year by Cannes Lions and Agency of the year by both Ad Age and Creativity.

But Droga did not have a perfect year. He had to close Droga5 Australia, and repairing and rebooting the Droga5 he launched in London in April 2013 has been a long, slow process.

Droga doesn’t have modest ambitions. When Droga5 Europe faltered and David Droga had to remove its first chief executive, Kevin Dundas, after just 18 months he stated that he wanted “to build the most influential creative agency in the world”.

He had already lost Droga5 Europe’s first executive creative director, Nik Studzinski, in July.Studzinski moved on to become chief creative officer and equity partner at Karmarama.

In order to “build the most influential creative agency in the world”, David Droga dropped the idea of conquering Europe. His UK agency became Droga5 London. And Droga has been building his dream team ever since.

No one can really know how many dream contenders he has failed to snare. Apparently, Nils Leonard is one. He did, however, poach Grey London’s managing director, Bill Scott, as chief executive in July 2015. He also lured David Kolbusz from Wieden & Kennedy New York to become chief creative officer.

Kolbusz brought Charlene Chandrasekaran and Dan Morris across from Bartle Bogle Hegarty London.

Since then, David Droga, the agency’s founder, has been doggedly pursuing the best talent to run the London office.

He hired Bill Scott from Grey London as the chief executive and Wieden & Kennedy New York’s David Kolbusz as the chief creative officer in October. Scott had joined Grey London in 2013. Before that he spent 13 years at BBH where he was managing partner and client services director.

Kolbusz has the kind of creative pedigree most only wish for. Before W+K, which he joined in April 2014, he had spent more than three and a half years with BBH London as as a partner, creative director and then deputy executive creative director. Before BBH he had been group creative director for three years with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

This week, Droga5 acquired a chief strategist, Dylan Williams, who has been Publicis Worldwide global chief strategy and innovation officer since May 2014. He has also been a creative council board member of Facebook since July 2015; a member of the board of directors at Publicis technology agency, Vivaki; co-founder of Publicis’ innovation agency, The Drugstore, since December 2014. director of The Trampery since April 2013; director of London Strategy Unit since February 2013, director of Create London since May 2012 and a member of the advisory boards at online delivery start-up, Shuti, and 10 Downing Street.

Meanwhile Droga5 London has begun to win new clients. It won Hepatitis C Trust in August 2015;