Shereen Ladha is starting a new position as head of strategy for North America at Sid Lee.

Ladha was previously VP and creative strategy lead at Hill+Knowlton where she also headed up the PR shop’s innovation and creativity hub in Canada.

Before joining Hill+Knowlton, Ladha was a group strategy director at Rethink where she served more than three years. Her duties at Rethink included handling creative, communications and business strategy for brand such as IKEA, Destination Canada, WestJet, Nestle, A&W and Vega.

“It’s not lost on me that I represent a different kind of hire to head up a big, cross-border, North American strategy department, in all the obvious ways of course, but also in that I’m just a different kind of strategist,” Ladha says. “I don’t just say ‘culture’ – I live in it, I participate in it, and I shape it through my work outside as a professional artist and active community member. That kind of perspective has enabled me to really make my mark on the work I do.”

Ladha tells strategy that she’s excited to bring expertise to Sid Lee that’s culturally intelligent, creatively ambitious and impact driven.

The Hill+Knowlton role gave Ladha insights into public affairs and the corporate side of business communications that she can now integrate into to the creative-agency dynamic.

“There’s so much to play with in those spaces that we often ignore,” she says. “Ultimately though, it’s always about creativity. And I’m always in pursuit of that.”

Ladha has contributed to work that as been received of six Cannes Lions wins over the past two years. IKEA’s “Scrapsbook,” KitKat’s “Iftar Bar” and Destination Canada’s “Maple Leave” campaigns are among her credits.

She also previously held the director of strategy and social role at McCann Worldgroup Canada.

In 2019, Ladha received the Strategy ‘New Establishment Innovator‘ Award and was a Creative Report Card (CRC) top 10 strategist in 2022 and 2023.