Edelman Canada has named new strategy leadership, hiring Laura Kim as SVP of strategy and innovation.

Based in Toronto, Kim will lead Edelman’s strategic planning offering for clients across its five Canadian offices.

Michelle Lee, who was hired as the agency’s head of strategic planning at the end of 2019, left the agency last summer and has since joined Rethink as a group strategy director.

Lee’s role was the first time Edelman had put someone into a strategic leadership position at that senior a level, and Kim’s hiring is further elevating the role. In addition to being an SVP-level role, she will be reporting directly to Lee Maicon, who was named Edelman’s first global chief innovation and strategy officer last year. Maicon’s hiring was the latest move in Edelman’s transition from a pure PR shop to an integrated agency built around brand trust and earned media, with a title aimed at highlighting the importance of innovation within strategy, particularly when it comes to reaching consumers through earned media.

Kim was most recently VP of strategy at Cossette, where she oversaw strategy for the agency’s McDonald’s account, but also brings experience from Zulu Alpha Kilo, SapientNitro and Leo Burnett Chicago, where she was one of the founding staff on its Farmhouse innovation division. She also has experience working with clients including Allstate, Pfizer and Tim Hortons.