Storm Day Named NZ Accenture Song Lead and CEO of Droga5 Aotearoa

Storm Day has been appointed New Zealand lead of Accenture Song and CEO of The Monkeys Aotearoa, soon to become Droga5.

The appointment comes a month before The Monkeys Aotearoa will officially rebrand as Droga5, and follows the promotion of Bronwyn van der Merwe to Accenture Song AUNZ lead and Matt Michael as CEO of Droga5 AUNZ.

Storm has led The Monkeys Aotearoa and the Song New Zealand marketing practice since early 2022. Her promotion reflects Justin Mowday now being at the helm of Accenture New Zealand. Justin started The Monkeys Aotearoa alongside CCO Damon Stapleton in 2021.

“I am extremely excited to be leading this very talented team and working with our clients to join up purpose and customer experience,” Storm said of her appointment.

“Combined with the Droga5 name and our incredible creative leader, Damon Stapleton, we will continue to build and sustain Aotearoa’s most influential brands.

“We help Kiwi organisations put a meaningful purpose at the heart of their culture, operations and experiences to drive growth.”

With over two decades of experience in the New Zealand marketing and consulting industry, Storm has worked on global award-winning brands such as Tourism New Zealand, ASB, New Zealand Story, Fonterra, Mazda, and Asahi. Before she joined The Monkeys, she was at Special.

“Storm has been instrumental in expanding the team at The Monkeys Aotearoa and making Accenture Song’s global expertise relevant to the New Zealand market,” Justin said.

“She is a formidable leader with unbeatable local knowledge and experience and is the best person to help steer us into the future as we continue to champion purpose-led growth for our clients in New Zealand.”  

In mid-October, Bronwyn and Matt were elevated to replace Mark Green, who has relocated to New York to head up Droga5 globally. Brownyn’s promotion is already effective, while Matt’s takes effect on 1 December, in line with the rebadging. Accenture’s marketing practice is also due to officially launch the media unit headed up by ex-Initiative execs Melissa Fein, Chris Colter, and Sam Geer, who will report in to Matt.

In a recent interview with LBB, Matt said “everything is different” this time around for the Droga brand in Australia. The agency had a local presence from 2008 to 2015, before it shuttered. It joined the Accenture stable alongside The Monkeys in 2019.

“We can't underestimate the role that The Monkeys has in this transition,” Matt said.

“We've built 18 years of an incredible business with an incredible position, tight links to our clients, a philosophy that was very clear: provocative thinking. The Droga5 launch will stand on the shoulders of that. That's a significant difference. 

“We are bringing in some of the Droga thinking, some of the Droga process, some of the Droga approach. They're doing the same for The Monkeys globally. And by the time we get to 1 December, I think it will come together very nicely.”

David Droga, global CEO at Accenture Song, said of Matt and Bronwyn’s appointments in October, “How lucky to be going from strength to strength in ANZ leadership. Bronwyn's integrated expertise and perspective, coupled with her deep commitment to both our people and our clients, makes her the ideal leader for this next chapter.

"At the same time, Matt who has a history of leadership and excellence is uniquely poised to lead Droga5, and will shape a local perspective that will undoubtedly have an impact on the agency and its clients globally." 

Last week, LBB revealed The Monkeys Melbourne’s Ant Keogh, Paul McMillan and Michael Derepas were departing to set up their own agency.