In early December of last year, his first big hire was that of another longtime lieutenant, Neil Heymann, who in February will start his role as Accenture Interactive’s first-ever global chief creative officer. Heymann was previously Droga5 global chief creative officer before departing the agency last February to co-found LeTruc, Publicis Groupe’s center of creative excellence based in New York. Less than a year later, it was announced he’d be rejoining David Droga. In December, the company also announced that Jatinder Singh, DDB’s data chief, would become Accenture Interactive’s global head of data and analytics.
Read: Neil Heymann joins Accenture Interactive as first-ever global creative chief
All of the appointments outside of Law’s are new to Accenture Interactive. The company’s chief strategy officer, Baiju Shah, previously oversaw design. Shah’s role will also be expanding and he will also serve as product innovation lead, overseeing that discipline around the world.
‘Oversized creative ambitions’
News of Law’s departure in December left the industry speculating as to whether he had a new gig lined up, and if so, what type of company would draw a top Apple talent from his post.
“When David became the CEO of Accenture Interactive, it was a clear statement of the company’s oversized creative ambitions,” Law said in a statement. “It’ll be a privilege to lead the discipline that I’ve always considered the foundation of the creative and tech industries—design. Creating great products, experiences and outcomes for clients starts with the craft and clarity of brilliant design. Design shapes how we interact with the world—and how we change it for the better.”
Thompson’s new role at Accenture follows a shift in Droga5’s leadership ranks. That included the promotion of Susie Nam, the agency’s former global chief operating officer. In November she became CEO of the Americas, taking over Thompson’s responsibilities over the New York headquarters as well as oversight of its soon-to-be-opened Brazil outpost.
“I’m thrilled to take on a broader role within the leadership team of Accenture Interactive, especially at a time when businesses worldwide need a growth acceleration partner to help them drive their growth and ability to meet the ever-shifting needs of modern customers,” said Thompson in the statement.
The infusion of-big industry talent brings the promise of more creative energy and muscle to Accenture Interactive, which is part of the global consulting giant. Since 2013, the company has acquired more than three dozen agencies and marketing ventures across creative, digital, design, e-commerce and other disciplines, according to Ad Age’s latest Agency Report.
The remit of the new leaders includes oversight of agencies that are now part of the Accenture Interactive family. Those include Ireland-based Rothco; Karmarama in the U.K.; Australia’s The Monkeys; SinnerSchrader and Kolle Rebbe in Germany; Hjaltelin Stahl in Denmark; Storm Digital in the Netherlands; King James in South Africa and others.
Access the 2021 Ad Age Agency Report here.
Based on 2020 revenue, Ad Age’s Datacenter ranked Accenture Interactive the world’s fourth-largest agency company, following WPP, Omnicom Group and Publicis Groupe. The company also ranked as the world’s largest digital agency network for the sixth consecutive year, according to Ad Age’s report.
