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Droga5 London, part of Accenture Interactive, has promoted executive creative director Shelley Smoler to chief creative officer. 

She takes over from David Kolbusz, who is set to depart the agency in mid-May.  

This marks the first time a Droga5 creative department will be led by a female CCO. Smoler joined Droga5 London in 2017 with her creative partner, Raph Basckin, as its first creative director. 

Over the past four years she has risen to group creative director, executive creative director and now chief creative officer.

Droga5 said that Smoler will now lead Droga5 London's commitment to creating purposeful, cultural defining work across new mediums with creativity and brand purpose at the core.  

Smoler has been at the helm of Droga5 London’s award-winning creative work for brands including Amazon, BrewDog, Diet Coke and Vestiaire Collective, among others.

Her work on the Amazon Super Bowl commercial “Before Alexa” received an Emmy nomination and took the number one spot in ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s Top 15 film ads of 2020. 

Before Droga5, Smoler was a creative director at Bartle Bogle Hegarty London, working on brands including Audi, Google, Heineken, KFC, Mentos and The Guardian.  

Smoler said: “I am incredibly proud of the work I’ve been a part of. There is no reward more satisfying than seeing the bravery of my colleagues and clients redefine the conventions of an industry I love. 

“My ambition as Droga5 London’s chief creative officer is to take the conceptual magic of Droga5 and combine it with Accenture Interactive’s formidable capabilities to create a kind of supercharged clay that my teams can mould into ideas unlimited by any definition of category, genre or medium. ±±¾©Èü³µpk10s that are recognised beyond the confines of the advertising world and that surprise, delight and move the people who experience them.”

Bill Scott, chief executive of Droga5 London and managing director of Accenture Interactive in the UK & Ireland, added: “Shelley is an exceptional leader who is fearless, compassionate and selfless in equal measure. She will leave no stone unturned to push the creative product from conception to delivery, driving her teams and her clients to make the work the best it can be. 

“But in so doing, she only leads by example and coaches those around her on where she thinks the work needs to go. She has a unique skill of not only making the work better, but the people around her better. I can think of no-one more prepared and more deserving for this role.”

Accenture, the consulting giant and parent company of Accenture Interactive, has acquired dozens of agencies, including Droga5 in 2019, as part of a major push into digital marketing services.

David Droga, the founder of Droga5, became CEO and creative chairman of Accenture Interactive in August 2021.

Accenture Interactive had $12.5bn of annual revenues in the year to August 2021 and grew 15%, Accenture has told investors.