Droga5 announces European expansion with new London office to focus on global brands – to be headed by Kevin Dundas and Nik Studzinski

Droga5 today confirmed it will be opening an office in London to strengthen the agency’s European presence.

The announcement comes a week after a Droga5 spokesperson declined to comment over a possible expansion into London in an interview with Campaign Brief. 

Droga5 London will be led by a dynamic team including CEO Kevin Dundas (right), Executive Creative Director Nik Studzinski (left) and Head of Account Management Olivia Legere.

Droga5 London will open in June 2013 and partner with a mix of existing Droga5 clients and other global brands. Additional management team members–including an additional ECD to partner with Studzinski –and launch clients will be announced in the coming months.

Says Andrew Essex Vice Chairman of Droga5: “Droga5 has always worked on a global scale. Now, by adding a European hub to our offering, we’re even better positioned to help our clients achieve their international brand and business goals.”

Droga5 London will draw on Droga5 New York’s mission to help build and sustain the most influential businesses and brands of the twenty-first century and create an offering that’s flexible and tailored to meet the needs of global brands. The agency will invest heavily in world-class digital and media capabilities to deliver integrated, media-neutral brand and business ideas crucial for success in a global marketplace.

Says David Droga founder and creative chairman of Droga5: “You can’t build a truly influential global company without having a strong presence in London. It’s pound for pound the most creative market in the world, which is why I am as excited as I am intimidated about this new canvas.”

Dundas has more than 25 years of experience in advertising. Fifteen years of global strategic planning roles at Publicis London, Y&R London and FCB San Francisco (now Draftfcb) led him to a long stint at Saatchi & Saatchi London, where he rose in the ranks to become Managing Director and CEO. His work with Droga and Studzinski at Saatchi & Saatchi London resulted in a highly prolific creative period that culminated in being named Agency of the Year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Dundas joins Droga5 London after three years as Managing Partner and President of 180 Amsterdam, leading them through an intense period of restructuring and substantive growth. 

In his three years at Droga5 New York, Studzinski has been responsible for highly influential campaigns for PUMA, Mondelez International and The Coca-Cola Company. Prior to joining Droga5, Studzinski’s roles included Executive Creative Director at Mother London, Executive Creative Director at Publicis London and Head of Art at Saatchi & Saatchi London, where he became the youngest board member in the agency’s history. Studzinski’s career highlights include myriad award-winning campaigns for Monster, Lexus, Schweppes, P&G, Renault, Cadbury, the British Army and Boots.

Legere (pictured) joined Droga5 New York in 2009 to run business development, and she’s played an instrumental role in the agency’s growth and success, bringing in clients including Prudential, Vestas and The Coca-Cola Company. As Group Account Director, she oversaw the agency’s Mondelez International and Kraft Foods Group accounts and contributed to work on PUMA and American Express, among others. Legere’s work experience spans three continents, including stints in London, Sydney and New York. Previously, she was a business lead at Anomaly New York’s intellectual property arm. She began her career in-house at Unilever.

Dundas, Studzinski and Legere are all English by birth.

Droga5 was founded in New York in 2006 by David Droga, formerly the Worldwide Creative Director of Publicis Worldwide and Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi London. In the past six years, Droga5 New York has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, Adweek’s 2012 U.S. Agency of the Year, Creativity’s U.S. Agency of the Year in both 2007 and 2011 and an Advertising Age A-List Agency for the past three years in a row. Droga5’s Sydney office opened in 2008 and has grown its client base exponentially to include major Australian brands Telstra, Woolworths and Qantas.