Droga5 Strengthens Executive Team by Elevating Three Senior Leaders

Droga5 announced today that it has elevated Colleen Leddy to Chief Media Officer, Dean Challis to Head of Communications Strategy and Marianne Stefanowicz to Chief Communications Officer, citing each as critical leaders for the agency’s future as creative problem-solvers focused on driving business results for brands.

Colleen Leddy arrived at Droga5 in 2013 as Group Communications Strategy Director and was promoted to Head of Communications Strategy in 2014.

Colleen is responsible for building one of the industry’s largest and most respected departments of communications strategists.

Her progressive approach to bringing media thinking up front in the creative process, considering context as much as content, has helped drive the agency’s most robust and effective work and cemented the role media plays within Droga5’s efforts to redefine integration. In her role as Chief Media Officer, Colleen will be tasked with unlocking future agency growth based on the potential of media and its ever-evolving landscape, pulling media and creative together in order to deliver ideas that drive clients’ business. She will push for client solutions across publishers, agency partners and marketing technologies that drive business results. Colleen will also continue to treat media as a canvas versus a container—ensuring media strategy is in sync with data and brand thinking to effect the entire experience Droga5 creates for clients. Before joining Droga5, Colleen served as Strategy Director at BBH.

Dean Challis was promoted from Group Communications Strategy Director to Head of Communications Strategy. As Head of Communications Strategy, Dean will oversee the department and continue to ensure media is leveraged as an integrated strategic function to deliver more effective ideas and results for clients. He will be responsible for developing the agency’s systems-thinking approach to focus on consumer centricity, ensuring our work is more effective both upstream and downstream across all channels and points of the consumer journey. Prior to joining Droga5 in 2016, Dean held the role of Global Strategy Director at MediaCom.

Marianne Stefanowicz joined Droga5 in 2015 as Global Head of Communications and is the catalyst for helping build, grow and drive the agency’s reputation and some of the agency’s most talked-about work over the past three years, including this year’s Tourism Australia “Dundee” campaign and 2017’s MailChimp “Did You Mean Mailchimp?”campaign, ideas which held public relations at their core. Her strong handle on branding, marketing, public relations and integrated communications has helped make Droga5’s work some of the most talked-about among consumers and the industry at large. In her role as Chief Communications Officer, Marianne will continue to play a vital role, leading and guiding the agency’s goals and vision. She is also the guiding force for ensuring effective development and implementation of public relations within integrated ideas for clients. Prior to joining Droga5, Marianne served as Global Head of Communications at TBWA\Worldwide. 

“Droga5 is in the business of creative problem-solving, and as the systems in which we’re able to create real connections and drive results get more complex, we need strong leaders and change agents guiding our communications and media capabilities. With Colleen, Dean and Marianne at the helm, I am excited and energized by what the future will hold as we continue to collaborate, create and solve for clients,” said Jonny Bauer, Global Chief Strategy Officer at Droga5.

These latest appointments come on the heels of the agency’s recognition as Effie’s Most Effective Independent Agency for the second year in a row and new business wins, including Kraft Heinz Company’s Kraft Mac and Cheese and Philadelphia Cream Cheese brands.