The Local Collective has added to its strategy leadership with the hiring of Michael Ash in the new role of director of integrated strategy.

Ash, who previously led digital strategy for performance marketing at J. Walter Thompson (now Wunderman Thompson), will oversee the strategic direction of all work coming out of the agency. While at his former agency, he oversaw work for Mazda and HSBC in both the U.S. and Canada.

“Michael brings an eclectic mix of innovation, accreditation and strategic acumen to the table that I haven’t seen before,” said Matt Litzinger, president and CCO, in a press release, noting that Ash is “equally versed in mining insightful, human behaviours while understanding the digital life cycle of a consumer.”

Prior to creating the role, strategy has being handled by the agency’s leadership. The addition of Ash will allow for “an even more focused approach,” Litzinger added in a follow-up email to strategy. He says the position will help The Local Collective deliver its locally based-insights approach on a larger scale.

Since opening its doors last year, the Toronto-based creative agency has tried to differentiate itself by producing work based on localized insights (as opposed to “universal insights”). Since launching, the agency has picked up work for clients including Food Banks Canada, Pizza Pizza and cannabis brand YSS.

Ash’s hiring also serves as a bit of a reunion. Before Wunderman Thompson, Ask worked in digital strategy at Red Lion, where Litzinger served as president and chief creative officer before helping found The Local Collective with former Red Lion colleagues Kaitlin Doherty, Lauren Brown and Pepe Bratanov.