Industry veteran Dave Carey is bringing his experience building embedded solutions and developing North American business to the S4 Capital-owned Media.Monks.

Carey, who has joined the agency as global EVP of studios and embedded solutions, becomes the new leader for its production business, Studio.Monks. He brings more than a decade of senior leadership experience – most recently with Hogarth, where he was overseeing Canadian operations and leading the agency’s growth agenda in the North American market. Prior to that, he played a significant role in growing Oliver’s footprint in Canada, where he built a number of in-house teams for the agency’s clients. He has also held senior roles with Dash, Innocean and Doner.

With Studio.Monks, he will spearhead efforts to integrate AI and other emerging technology into the agency’s production processes, bringing “one process and methodology” to the company’s workflow in order to create “more efficiency for clients and for us,” he tells strategy.

“We really want to be the first to market with AI-driven solutions for our clients,” says Carey. “Among all of the agencies I’ve seen working with AI, we’re well ahead. We’re practical, and we know that some of what is being presented isn’t doable right now. So we’re really focusing on things that are tangible for clients: automation at scale, translation, language and copywriting, and we’re getting close to full film production.”

While working on that integration, Carey will also lead a restructuring of Media.Monks’ production teams globally, as the agency seeks borderless unification. The agency operates 57 talent hubs in 32 countries around the world, employing experts in film, photography, animation, sound, virtual production and other skill sets.

Among his teams, Carey will work to identify “10 to 12 key leaders who will be direct reports to me for this restructure,” under whom other professionals will operate.

Carey was selected because he “combines the passion to innovate with deep expertise in building embedded brand solutions,” says Wesley ter Haar, co-CEO of content for Media.Monks. Those two traits “will help us chart a path forward for the AI-infused pipelines that brand leaders need.”

Bruno Lambertini, Media.Monk’s other co-CEO of content, adds: “In our journey to deliver exceptional creative experiences to clients and their audiences around the world, Dave’s leadership will play a crucial role in revamping our approach to supporting best-in-class talent with cutting-edge technology.”

Carey says that the new role will also likely mean a renewed focus for the agency in Canada, where it primarily operates in data and media.

Lead photo courtesy @VicPicCreative – Viktor Radics.