OMD Canada CEO Cathy Collier announced Monday that the agency had appointed its first chief client officer, naming John Killam to the role in an email to staff.

Killam, managing director in the agency’s Toronto office, has had the CCO title added to his business card as part of an agency plan that has seen a handful of senior executives take on broader roles across the agency’s Canadian operations. (Shane Cameron, for example, likewise has managing director and chief innovation officer roles.)

First joining OMD from McCann Canada in 2015 (where he served as VP and director of client service), Killam has played a leadership role on OMD’s efforts with two major clients: Pepsi and Rogers. Collier called his time at the agency “transformative,” and said in addition to CCO responsibilities, Killam would also now help manage the agency’s brand and talent.

“This started when we began looking at 2018 and envisioning where we wanted to be by 2020,” Collier told MiC. “As we expand the ways we help clients exceed business goals, we need to bolster our senior partner team to have high-level conversations with clients and set the agency up for success. One of those pillars was the chief client officer, and John was the obvious candidate with his background with client service.”

Prior to his time at McCann, Killam worked as an account executive with creative agencies such as Clean Sheet Communication and Juniper Park.

Collier said OMD will make another c-suite appointment this year, though she was mum on details, and will add a chief strategy officer in 2019.