Veritas Communications has named Nina Kalos as its new EVP and general manager, as it looks to open up New York and Los Angeles offices for itself and Meat & Produce this year.

Krista Webster, president and CEO of Veritas Communications, tells strategy that the move stateside is on the horizon due to recent agency growth. In particular, demand for service from Meat & Produce (an influencer and video content production agency launched last year), Webster says, has surpassed what the agency has imagined, and that it is also looking for more creatives and leadership to join that team.

Webster says the new GM role is one that was created for Kalos, “based on the double-down focus on clients and their business challenges and how we can serve them more expediently.” Further, Webster and Kalos will be partners in growing the agency: as Webster continues to look at opportunities to grow Veritas and Meat & Produce, as well as taking on a vice-chair role with the recently launched Doner agency network, Kalos will take care of the Toronto home base, and helm what Webster calls the “mothership of strength.” Some senior staff, such as new VP and creative strategist Lisa Kwong, will now report to Kalos in this capacity.

Kalos has been with Veritas since 2013, having been named SVP in 2017 and taking on the additional role as head of client of services for Meat & Produce when it launched.

Led by the Detroit-based Doner Group, the new MDC-owned agency network also includes 6Degrees, Union and KWT, as well as U.S.-based Yamamoto and HL Group. Webster, who has been given specific oversight of Union, 6Degrees, Veritas/M&P and HL Group in her role as vice-chair, previously described the network as a recognition of the where the marketing business is today, expanding client offerings through collaboration. As an example, Webster pointed to how Meat & Produce conceived a digital influencer play for Subway featuring Martha Stewart: since Subway liked the idea so much, the QSR wanted to turn into a full brand spot, leading it to bring in creative services from Union to support that project.