Public Inc. has added Pat Pirisi as its chief creative officer. Pirisi joins the agency, which aims to benefit social causes through its work with for-profit clients, as it grows its team for upcoming projects.

This is Pirisi’s first CCO position. Prior to this role, Pirisi held creative director positions at Icandy and Draftfcb (now FCB), which came after nine years with Publicis as well as a stint as CD, managing director at TBWA\Chiat Day. In the past, he’s worked with brands including Kia Motors, Nissan, Wal-Mart, Kraft and Kellogg’s.

“The real advantage here is that Public doesn’t have the baggage that one would associate with traditional agencies,” he says of joining a smaller agency. “It gives me a chance to create a blueprint with some very good people and lead to some very good communications. I find that seductive…that with each thing we do there is an overriding goal that is centered around doing good.”

Since coming aboard at Public at the end of September, Pirisi has worked on the “Vote for a Party” campaign with Beau’s and is currently expanding his team for work with clients including Unilever, Indigo, Rexall, WWF and Partners for Mental Health. In addition to the agency side, Public also runs what it calls a Public Impact Lab, which develops its own business initiatives to support causes it believes in.

“One thing I’m particularly excited about is developing business models that do have social impact, with a view to building vibrant business that drives revenue as well,” Pirisi says.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.