Advertising agency Grey Canada has hired a new VP for strategy and innovation, Andrew Carty, who joins them from Union Creative to ramp up digital leadership.
Carty, who has worked at Lowe Roche and Ogilvy & Mather, for brands like Audi, Cogeco Cable and Rogers, will oversee cross-discipline planning across Grey’s Canadian offices.
According to Stephanie Nerlich, president and CEO of Grey Canada, the role was changed to include innovation after Malcolm McLean left for Cundari.
“The department needed more leadership skills specifically in digital engagement,” she said.
“A leader who had experience connecting social/community and user experience became a key mandate in the recruit.”
Carty was the perfect fit, having worked on a technology start-up venture for a number of years before returning to school and joining the ranks of advertising first in Texas and then returning to Toronto.
But beyond his advertising pedigree, it was his entrepreneurial spirit that resonated with the Grey leadership.
“Grey is in an exciting phase with a number of unique client mandates. We need people who can rapidly come to grips with complex challenges and help deliver work that reflects our ‘famously effective’ philosophy,” Nerlich said.
“Andrew’s experience across business and communications planning, insight mining, digital and social mapping as well as innovation makes him a significant asset to our leadership team.”
Prior to the move, Carty spent three years with Union Creative (formerly CP+B Canada) where he led the strategy on accounts such as Kraft, Mondelez, and Best Buy.
Carty said he’s looking forward to joining a culture that’s committed to use planning to understand client’s business problems and to find solutions that directly impact the creative process and help brand trajectories.
“I’m excited to join Grey, I’ve been a big fan of the work they’ve been doing the past few years,” Carty added.
