Innocean Worldwide Canada has named June Hong as its new president and CEO.

Peter Kwan, who held the dual position for the last five years, will stay on as part of the agency’s global network, taking on a role at its global headquarters in Seoul as head of global management at Innocean Worldwide.

Hong has been part of the Innocean Worldwide network for 18 years, with experience in China, India, and Europe. He also helped set up Innocean Worldwide’s creative hub in Berlin in 2016. Most recently, Hong served as president and CEO for Innocean Worldwide Italy, and prior to that, he was president and CEO of Innocean Worldwide UK for about three years.

“Over the next several years, I look forward to supporting the agency’s transformation and growth, with a particular focus on data-based performance and creativity-driven solutions that will enable us to compete with mainstream agencies here in Canada,” Hong says.

In January, Innocean announced five additions to its client services and media departments, largely to support its Kia account. (The agency was responsible for a Kia campaign that was named the most-watched ad in Canada for 2020, according to YouTube Canada’s annual Ads Leaderboard.) 

Last fall, Innocean Worldwide Canada announced it hired a new creative director Stephen Stahl to co-lead the agency’s Hyundai Canada account alongside CD, Bill Newbery, part of a strategic positional shift away from traditional and toward digital media.