Horizon Media has opened its first office outside the U.S. with former MediaCom SVP Kevin Kivi (pictured) leading the new Toronto operation.

Horizon oversees more than US$8 billion in client spending through offices in Los Angeles and New York. It chose Canada for its first international expansion because several of its international clients have Canadian operations.

“Our clients have been increasingly asking us for a holistic North American solution and international expansion opportunities are always in our plans, and so it felt like the right time to open an office dedicated to the Canadian market,” said Vinnie O’Toole, the agency’s EVP, COO and CFO.

Agency representatives declined to name their clients in Canada, but in the U.S. it has worked with Corona, Geico and the History channel. Kivi says Canadian pitches will be a part of the agency’s immediate future.

Kivi has been at MediaCom since 2014, previously spending more than four years with Carat.

Horizon positions itself as a “data-driven” media and marketing operation. It is independently owned, but has been able to operate internationally through its membership in Local Planet, an agency network with members in 64 countries.