Union hired Josh Hansen as its new director of strategy this month, moving toward a multi-skill set approach that emphasizes the evolving nature of its client needs.

Hansen joins the agency from Juniper Park/ TBWA Toronto, where he was planning director since 2016. He has also been creative director at Freshbooks and a senior planner at Sid Lee, Leo Burnett Toronto, and McCann Canada in years prior.

Union’s executive vice president and managing director, Catherine Marcolin, calls Hansen “the future of what strategy planning looks like,” adding that he is already looking for new ways to use creativity to help solve business problems for Union’s clients. She says Hansen has a multi-skill set approach to strategic planning and will work with Union’s creative team, innovation group and tech platform to address the shifting needs of clients. He is also building a strategy team consisting of diverse talent from different backgrounds.

Union’s evolving strategy is a work in progress, according to Marcolin. She says the traditional approach to planning doesn’t always address every client’s needs and that the future is about building the agency for where its clients are going and taking cultural and consumer insights into consideration.

“It’s been an evolving process at Union,” Marcolin says. “Planning is just evolving. It’s no longer a baton hand-off and we’re shouting at consumers. It’s really [about] looking at the consumer, what’s out there in the marketplace, and how the product and the brand need to impact that consumer.”