Droga5 promotes Damon Stapleton and Barbara Humphries to Co-CCOs of ANZ; Droga5 Australia CCO Tara Ford named CCO of Droga5, London

Accenture Song’s Droga5 ANZ Executive Creative Director Barbara Humphries and Droga5 Aotearoa Chief Creative Officer Damon Stapleton will step into new roles as Co-Chief Creative Officers of Australia and New Zealand, working in conjunction with Matt Michael, CEO of Droga5 ANZ.

Droga5 Australia Chief Creative Officer Tara Ford has been named the Chief Creative Officer of Droga5 London. Based in London, Ford will take on the creative helm, working closely alongside Droga5 London CEO Bill Scott and Chief Strategy Officer Will Hodge.

The new ANZ creative line up is part of an orchestrated creative restructure to reinvent Droga5’s worldwide offering and reposition the expanding global network for its new phase of growth and ambition under Droga5 Global CEO Mark Green.

Says Mark Green, Global CEO, Droga5: “It is always great to see people you have worked with closely for many years take on new challenges. 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.”

Says Matt Michael, CEO, Droga5 Australia & New Zealand: “I’m excited for Tara and looking forward to seeing her make the incredible kind of impact she has made in Australia in another part of our global network. Her move to head up London further underscores the incredible regional and global opportunities available to our creative talent. Having worked closely with Barb and Damon over the years, I’m thrilled to see these two heavyweights unite, strengthening our creative firepower for clients across the region. This move reinforces our commitment to borderless creativity, driving transformative impact for our client’s businesses, brands, and reputations in a way that continues to lead the world. With the creative calibre of Damon and Barb leading the charge, the next phase of Droga5 ANZ is set to be truly exciting.”

Named Campaign Brief’s 2023 Australian Agency of the Year, Droga5 ANZ (formerly The Monkeys) has flourished under Ford’s creative leadership, earning top honors at all major international award shows. The agency has secured Agency of the Year accolades for both creativity and effectiveness, along with number one global rankings at Cannes, D&AD, and One Show. Ranked #1 CCO in APAC by One Show, Ford is also AWARD’s ‘Creative Leader of the Year 2023/24’ and Campaign Asia’s 2023 ‘Creative Leader of the Year.’ Over her tenure, the agency has enjoyed its most successful era on record for both creativity and effectiveness.

Says Ford (pictured above): “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. Droga5 ANZ is in great hands with Barb and Damon at the helm and I have no doubt the agency will flourish under their leadership.”

As Executive Creative Director at Droga5 (formerly The Monkeys), Humphries has worked closely with Ford, shaping the agency’s creative output, critically on high profile projects including the Cannes Lions Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix-winning ‘The First Digital Nation’ for the Tuvaluan Government and Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix-winning ‘Play It Safe’ for The Sydney Opera House.

Recently ranked #1 ECD in APAC in the One Show Global Creative Rankings, and joint AWARD Creative Leader of the Year with Ford, Humphries has worked with global brands such as Qantas, UN Women, Nike and has also helped drive the business transformation for NRMA Insurance as part of Accenture Song.

Says Humphries, Co-CCO, Droga5 Australia & New Zealand: “I’m really proud of the recent momentum as part of The Monkeys, Song and now Droga5, and 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.”

As Chief Creative Officer of Droga5 Aotearoa, Stapleton has led a dynamic team delivering impactful campaigns for ASB Bank, No Ugly, Meridian Energy, Mazda, Asahi, and Kidscan. With 20-plus years of experience, he has worked with some of the world’s most recognised brands, including McDonald’s, Toyota, Cadbury and Adidas.

A highly decorated creative leader, Stapleton has been named one of the top 20 Chief Creative Officers globally by D&AD and has amassed over 500 international awards, including: 54 D&AD Pencils – and two rare D&AD Black Pencils, 70 Cannes Lions, 11 One Show Gold Pencils, Three Grand Clios, an ADC Black Cube, and eight Grand Prix at Spikes Asia.

Says Stapleton: “Droga5 has always been a bastion of world-class creativity, and it makes me proud to be able to work with all the great and talented people of Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne to add to Droga5’s story. 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. I look forward to great ideas and making great stuff.”

2025 will mark the beginning of a new era for an agency synonymous with creative excellence. Following years of groundbreaking work and recognition as Adweek’s Agency of the Decade in 2020, the year ahead will be one of transformation.

Already the year has got off to a fast start with new work and new wins around the world, hot on the heels of 2024’s highlights: expansion of the agency into Australia and New Zealand, and Brazil.

• 2024 saw the introduction of Mark Green as Global CEO, Pelle Sjoenell as Worldwide CCO, and Emma Montgomery as Global CSO.
• In 2024, Droga5 also acquired award-winning Brazilian agency SOKO as well as welcomed The Monkeys in Australia and New Zealand – co-founded by Mark Green – to its network.
◦ With the acquisition of SOKO, Droga5 strengthened its leadership team in South America with Creative Chairperson Felipe Simi (Co-Founder of SOKO), CEO Brisa Vicente, and CCO Rafael Ziggy.
◦ The rebranding of The Monkeys into Droga5 also shored up the leadership team in APAC; in Droga5 ANZ Matt Michael was appointed CEO, overseeing all three Droga5 ANZ offices.
• The global Droga5 network is now over 1000-people strong across offices in New York, London, Dublin, São Paulo, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland.

Says Pelle Sjoenell, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, Droga5: “We’re fortunate to have such extraordinary talent within the Droga5 global family. It’s an embarrassment of riches to have world-class creative leaders like Tara, Barbara and Damon. As we welcome Tara into a new chapter in London and unite Barbara and Damon’s creative firepower for ANZ, it allows us to work without borders — harnessing our people, capabilities, and influence to make a real impact for our clients and move us closer to our ambition of being the most influential creative company.”

Hero Image (L-R): Barbara Humphries, Matt Michael, Damon Stapleton

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