A self-described “car buff” and digital creative technologist, Carlos Garavito believes he’s landed in a role that’s a perfect intersection of those two passions.

The former OgilvyOne, Cossette, Elvis Communications and Citizen Relations CCO joins The Marketing Store in Toronto as vice-president, CD, with a mandate to lead CRM and consumer engagement for the agency’s clients. One of its largest is Nissan North America, for which it handles all of the brand’s post-sales marketing – an area where emerging technologies are increasingly important, Garavito says.

“There’s this whole evolution of embedding technologies to better service our customers as drivers,” he says. “It is amazing because everything you do from a user experience in relationship with your vehicle is something we’re going to be able to leverage and support in delivering creative marketing and engagement opportunities, not just within the vehicle but at the dealerships.”

Garavito is filling in the role previously held by Michael Oliver, who was promoted to managing partner at The Marketing Store at the start of the year. In addition to Nissan North America (which includes Nissan and Infiniti brands), the agency also focuses on CRM and consumer engagement for clients that include McDonald’s and Transitions Optical.

Garavito was most recently working as an independent consultant when he saw a LinkedIn post from Oliver. The pair had a prior relationship, as Oliver was a senior CD at Blast Radius during a time Garavito was consulting there. Garavito says he’s excited about working alongside a fellow creative director at The Marketing Store, which employs around 125 staff members.

Oliver says Garavito’s hire is an important part of the Toronto agency’s evolution toward strengthening its creative and strategic capabilities “to take full advantage of our technology and analytics capabilities that have always been strong. With the team we have in place and Carlos joining as part of the leadership team here, the table is set to really do what we planned to.”

As further proof of its focus on consumer data, The Marketing Store announced yesterday the hire of Rob Morgan, as SVP, global consumer data analytics.