Droga5, part of Accenture Interactive, has promoted Executive Creative Director Shelley Smoler to London chief creative officer. The appointment follows news that current CCO David Kolbusz will be departing the agency in May for a new venture in the U.S. 

Smoler will be the London agency’s first female creative chief. She joined in 2017 with her creative partner, Raph Basckin, as its first creative director. She steadily rose through the ranks—to group creative director the following year and then executive creative director in 2020. 

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Smoler has led on the agency’s major accounts including Amazon, Brewdog, Diet Coke and Vestiaire Collective. Her calling card is work that speaks to culture while also having impact on the greater world. Among her highlights are Amazon campaigns including the Emmy-nominated “Before Alexa,” a recent Vestiaire Collective effort promoting the retail brand’s vintage offerings with a puppet fashion show as well as Brewdog’s “Beer for Everyone” campaign highlighting the brand’s environmental cred. 

Prior to Droga5 London, Smoler, like Kolbusz, had served at BBH London, where she helped steer all accounts including Audi, Guardian, Google, KFC, Heineken and Mentor. Before that, she had made a name for herself in South Africa at TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris/Johannesburg. One of her most famous projects there was a campaign for The Zimbabwean that challenged Prime Minister Robert Mugabe’s regime by printing protest messages on real banknotes. The effort won numerous awards, including a D&AD Black Pencil and Cannes Lions Grand Prix.

“Shelley is an exceptional leader who is fearless, compassionate and selfless in equal measure,” Bill Scott, CEO of Droga5 London and managing director at Accenture Interactive in the U.K. and Ireland said in a statement. “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.”

Smoler is also known for her attention to talent and her team and for creating an inspirational environment that nurtures confidence and freedom of ideas. 

“She has a unique skill of not only making the work better, but the people around her better,” said Scott. “I can think of no one more prepared and more deserving for this role.”

“I am incredibly proud of the work I’ve been a part of,” said Smoler. “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 … campaigns that are recognized beyond the confines of the advertising world and that surprise, delight and move the people who experience them.”

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