UM has announced its new VP of digital, hiring Erica Kokiw to the role.

The agency has been without a formal VP of digital since September, when Matt Ramella was promoted from the role to the executive position of head of digital strategy and partnerships with IPG Mediabrands Canada.

Kokiw most recently worked as head of digital at the Dentsu Aegis Network in Sydney.

Shelley Smit, president of UM Canada, had previously worked with Kokiw at Labatt, and kept in touch with her when she moved to Australia to work on the agency side of the business. During her time in Sydney, Kokiw also led digital at Mindshare and MediaCom.

When Smit heard that Kokiw was coming back to Canada, she said her team decided to hold the VP of digital role for her.

Kokiw will lead digital across all clients at UM Canada. As it is everywhere, digital is a growing part of UM’s business, approaching 50% of client spend last fall, said Harvey Carroll, CEO at IPG Mediabrands Canada, when Ramella was promoted to the executive team.