David Droga

Droga grew up in Perisher Valley, a remote ski resort in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia, the fifth of six children.[6][7] His mother was a Danish artist, poet and environmentalist, while his father was an Australian businessman of Polish descent.[8] Droga attended early primary school at Jindabyne Central School (1973-1977) and then the Tudor House School (1978-1980). He spent his high school years at The King's School in Paramatta, Sydney.[9] He launched his advertising career as a copywriter by winning top national student honors at the Australian Writers and Art Directors School in 1987.[10][11]

Six months after being hired by global network FCB as a copywriter, 19-year-old Droga left the company and joined fledgling startup OMON in Sydney as its earliest creative hire. His first project for radio station MMM was voted Australian Commercial of the Year, and won him his first Cannes Lion.[12] By the age of 22, Droga became a Partner and Executive Creative Director of OMON.[13][14] Over the next five years, OMON won Australian Agency of the Year twice and Ad of the Year four times.[15]

In 1996, he moved to Singapore to become Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore and Regional Creative Director of Saatchi Asia. In 1998, Media Marketing named Saatchi Asia Regional Network of the Year and Advertising Age named the Singapore office International Agency of the Year.[16]

Droga was promoted to Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi London in 1999. In 2002, Advertising Age awarded Droga the World's Top Creative Director.[17][18] Saatchi & Saatchi London won Global Agency of the Year at the Cannes International Advertising Festival and both Advertising Age and Adweek named Saatchi Agency of the Year.[19]

In 2000, Publicis Groupe acquired Saatchi[20] and in 2004, Droga was promoted to Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of the Publicis Network, which took him to New York City in 2005.[21]

As of 2021 Droga was the most awarded creative at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity[30] and in 2013 he was the youngest person inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of the Fame.[31] He is also a laureate of the Asian Media and Marketing Hall of Fame,[32] the AdNews Hall of Fame,[33] the Campaign Brief AWARD Hall of Fame,[34] and the American Advertising Federation's Advertising Hall of Achievement.[35] In 2016 Adweek named Droga one of the top 100 most influential leaders in marketing, media and technology for the second time.[36] Esquire magazine has featured Droga in its annual Best and Brightest issue three times, and Creative magazine named him Australian Creative Person of the Decade.[37] In 2012 he was named Global Australian of the Year by the Australian Advance Committee[38] and honoured by the American Australian Association and G'Day USA.[39] In 2017, David Droga received the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity's Lion of St. Mark, the festival's award for outstanding contribution to the creative industry.[40] In 2018 Droga was named Jury President of the Cannes Sustainable Development Goals Lions.[41] In 2019 the Clio Awards honored Droga with a Lifetime Achievement Award.[42]

• Droga5 website