Blast Radius has hired Kevin Drew Davis as its new chief creative officer, the first time it has had someone in the role in six years.

Though based in Blast Radius’ Chicago office, Davis will oversee all creative operations, brand strategy and experience design across offices in Toronto and Vancouver. In his new role, Davis will lead work for clients including Lavazza Coffee, Huawei, BMW Canada and SaskTel.

Davis is no stranger to the Canadian market. He comes from DDB, which he joined in 2013 as CCO of the agency’s Canadian offices. He held the role for over a year before moving to DDB’s Chicago office to lead its McDonald’s business, moving again two years later to San Francisco to lead creative for its offices on the West Coast.

Prior to joining DDB, David held a number of digital-focused roles, including as an ECD at Digitas, group CD for digital at FCB Chicago and digital CD at Publicis.

Blast Radius has not had a CCO since 2011, when Chip Reingold left the agency to join San Francisco-based Cibo. Since then, creative has been led by leaders in individual offices. Blast Radius’ VP of global corporate communications Martina Suess told strategy via email that those leaders have developed a “significant and very collaborative” network that required more leadership, in addition to the agency’s ongoing evolution in North America.

While not directly related to Davis’ hiring, Dave Stevenson, creative director at both Blast Radius and sister agency Wunderman in Toronto, left the agency to join Ariad in November.