Droga5 snares The Monkeys leader as CEO for global expansion

The Monkeys co-founder and Accenture Song ANZ boss Mark Green speaks exclusively to The Growth Agenda about his new role at the helm of creative powerhouse Droga5 as it merges with The Monkeys.

The Monkeys co-founder and CEO of Accenture Song Australia and New Zealand Mark Green will step into the role of global CEO of Droga5.

Mark Green, the co-founder and chief executive of creative agency, The Monkeys, and Accenture Song lead has been appointed the global CEO of creative powerhouse Droga5.

The appointment also marks the end of an era with The Monkeys to be rebadged Droga5 across the agency’s offices in Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney from December.

Green will relocate to New York City in October to assume the role, working alongside Droga5’s recently appointed global chief creative officer, Pelle Sjoenell to oversee all Droga5 creative offices, which include Dublin, London, New York, São Paulo and Tokyo.

The move aims to enable local clients to leverage the tech, design and data capabilities of Droga5’s global presence through Accenture Song integrated services.

Speaking exclusively to The Growth Agenda, Green said the move brought together the two creative agencies, which were both launched in 2006 and share similar creative and cultural philosophies.

“We’ve had such an epic journey over the last 18 years and so have Droga5, they were founded the same year as us,” said Mr Green.

“I’m looking forward to building on what we created here and taking everything I’ve learned global, as well as taking the helm of one of the world’s greatest creative agency brands.

“There’s no bigger challenge than the ‘Big Apple’ and a global remit. I like the gutsiness and the scale of the challenge and it gets me excited and nervous in equal measure and I feel like that’s where most of my career has been, so why not roll up the sleeves and go again?”

“Australians like to take on the world and we measure ourselves by how we perform on the global stage and hopefully we can bring that restlessness and energy to every part of the globe that Droga5 sits in. It’s going to be a formidable line-up and a great challenge.”

Mr Green confirmed the process for his replacement as Accenture Song lead across Australia and New Zealand was underway with an announcement “in due course”.

“I am happy to hand it to someone to bring in some fresh ideas and some energy. I feel like I am leaving it in as good shape as possible.”

The Monkeys managing director Matthew Michael, who is also MD of Accenture Song will continue in his roles.

“Matt will continue to lead the marketing capability within Song and The Monkeys report in to him and he’ll continue to head that up and to drive both Song and The Monkeys in the transition to Droga5.”

Mr Green said the alignment between The Monkeys and Droga5 had been evident in the pitch process for Tourism Australia, which last month appointed Accenture Song, The Monkeys and Droga5 to manage creative and digital services for the next five years.

“What was apparent in that process was how closely aligned we are on how we see the industry moving forward. But also culturally, we are very similar in style and behaviours and I think that will make the move quite seamless. I feel we’ve already had a few runs at bringing it together and we know it’s a formidable team of people.”

The agencies were also linked through the Accenture Song appointment with NRMA Insurance.

The two agencies are highly regarded around the globe as creative powerhouses and were both founded by Australians.

Droga5 was founded in 2006 by David Droga and has consistently been recognised as Agency of the Year, with more than 25 titles, as well as both Ad Age and Adweek’s Agency of the Decade (2010-2020).

Green succeeds Sarah Thompson as CEO of Droga5 and joins the agency after a strong year of growth and success for Droga5, whose client roster includes some of the most influential brands from around the world, including JPMorgan and Chase and Molson Coors.

David Droga, CEO of Accenture Song and founder of Droga5, said: “Droga5’s mission has always been to deliver creativity rooted in strategy and purpose, that is humanity-obsessed. We create experiences that deeply connect with people and add value to their lives. Mark is a proven leader, who embodies these ambitions and will take Droga5 to the next level of excellence and meaningful influence.”

The Monkeys was also launched in 2006 by co-founders Justin Drape, Scott Nowell and Green, who left Saatchi & Saatchi to launch the creative shop, originally called Three Drunk Monkeys before rebranding in 2011.

The Monkeys is one of Australia’s most awarded advertising agencies and was acquired by Accenture in 2017. It has consistently won Agency of the Year awards and was named Australian Agency of the Decade (2010-2020) by B & T. Since becoming part of Accenture Song, and under Green’s leadership, it has experienced strong growth through major account wins, as well as global creative recognition.

The agency has picked up Grand Prix awards at the Cannes Lion Advertising Festival for the last two years in succession. This year, it won the Film Grand Prix for ‘Play It Safe’, celebrating 50 years of the iconic Sydney Opera House, and in 2023, it took home the Titanium Grand Prix for ‘The First Digital Nations’ for the Government of Tuvalu.