Edelman has added to its local digital leadership by hiring Matt Collette as its head of digital in Canada.

In his new role, Collette will be responsible for driving business development, growing talent and building on Edelman’s suite of digital services for Canadian clients. He is also taking on duties as global managing director of digital growth to pursue new opportunities across the agency’s offices.

Collette was raised in Ottawa, but moved to Asia shortly after finishing university studies, taking on progressive roles with the likes of Ogilvy and Zeno Group in China and Singapore. In 2019, he joined Edelman as vice chair of digital across the agency’s Asia Pacific region.

Lisa Kimmel, chair and CEO of Edelman Canada, pointed to Collette’s track record of driving transformation and growing the digital business in Asia Pacific as something the agency is “thrilled” to apply to its developing offerings in Canada.

While the title is a new one at Edelman Canada, last year, Dave Fleet, previously EVP and national practice lead for digital, moved into a new role as managing director and head of the global digital crisis practice.

Collette’s role is also the latest global duties that are being served by Edelman Canada. Late last year, it hired Brent Nelsen as its new global chief innovation and strategy officer. In 2019, the agency hired Judy John to be its first global CCO and further its creative ambitions, a role in which she built out a Toronto-based global creative hub with local talent.