King Ursa has hired Grant Cleland and Sean Atkinson to build and lead its creative team as the agency continues to expand.

The pair have been appointed as the agency’s co-ECDs, and together “they will definitely be the drivers of our big thinking,” says Paulo Salomao, co-founder and CCO at the agency. They will be responsible not only for leading the creative team at the agency, but also building it out.

They will be managing teams working on a client roster that now includes Qtrade, along with James Ready Beer, Twisted Tea, Timberland and Maple Lodge Farms.

Atkinson and Cleland have worked together as a freelance creative duo for five years, and “were known as being the number one go-to freelance creative duo in this country in recent years,” says Salomao. Together, they have made stops at agencies including Bruce Mau Design, Zulu Alpha Kilo, Leo Burnett, Taxi, BBDO, Huge and Cossette. They have worked on campaigns for clients including the Toronto Maple Leafs, ParticipACTION, Corona, Audi, Interac, Amazon and Bell.

Over the past seven years the agency has grown from two co-founders to its current roster of 47 staffers.