Havas Montreal has hired Nikolaos Lerakis as VP of design, and he’s bringing some help with him to bolster the agency’s service offering.

Lerakis was the owner and director of Studio Beau, an art and graphic design studio founded in 2010. Studio Beau worked on design and branding projects for range of restaurants, TV shows, publications and events in Montreal and Quebec, winning awards at shows including Grafika, Lux and the Adobe Design Awards.

Studio Beau’s team – which includes fewer than 10 other designers – will be coming to Havas with Lerakis to develop a new set of design and branding services set to debut this fall.

In an email, Stephane Mailhoit, VP of strategy at Havas Montreal, clarified that the agency had not acquired Studio Beau. Rather, Lerakis is joining Havas as a new employee, and his team decided to follow him to the agency.

In a press release, Havas Montreal president and CEO Jan-Nicolas Vanderveken said the addition of the Studio Beau talent will bolster the agency’s client offering “both in the digital and the physical realms.”

Outside of its design department, Havas Montreal recently hired John Pankert as its new director of strategy.