Diamond has made another big addition to its creative leadership team, adding Anand Iyer as creative director.

Iyer, who most recently had been working as an ACD at No Fixed Address, is returning to the industry after taking a short break from his career to travel and spend time with his family. He joins Diamond with more than a decade of agency experience in increasingly senior creative roles at NFA as well as BBDO Canada, Red Lion and Publicis. He is perhaps best known for his award-winning work with BBDO on Right To Play and its “We Rise” campaign in 2018.

Iyer tells strategy he decided to join Diamond because of the agency’s “entrepreneurial spirit” and the momentum it has built over the past year. He is the agency’s first major hire since it added Peter Ignazi as its first CCO late last year.

“We have a great creative team here and the addition of someone of Anand’s caliber is a further signal of the creative revolution we’re going through,” Ignazi said.

After he is fully onboarded, Iyer will work across Diamond’s roster of clients, which includes TheScore Bet as well as expanded mandates with SkipTheDishes, TD and Tim Hortons. He says he plans to “bring a lot of energy” to “push for ideas that really resonate meaningfully and touch people in insightful ways.”

“It’s a big and interesting role for me to come into and help shape the agency and the work,” he explains. “We all know what Peter [Ignazi] has done in the past, and he’s a great leader. I want to be a part of building his vision.”