INNOCEAN Canada Names John Killam COO/Chief Growth Officer

INNOCEAN Canada is adding to its executive team with the appointment of John Killam to chief operating officer and chief growth officer. Based at INNOCEAN’s Toronto office, Killam will lead the day-to-day operations in Canada, driving its ongoing digital transformation, while continuing to accelerate new business growth for the award-winning agency.

Killam brings broad experience to Innocean. His career started with a focus on digital and CRM then evolved into leadership roles at some of Canada’s leading creative and media agencies. These have included independent agencies and those in global networks at Omnicom, WPP and IPG.

Killam joins INNOCEAN Canada from Ostrich Studios where he was president and played a role in the agency’s independent network, ‘by the Network’, as North American lead for their Growth Council. Prior to that, he was CEO of Ogilvy Canada where he led the agency to several major new business wins and helped to re-establish Ogilvy Canada as a key player and creative contributor within the agency’s global network.

While he has spent most of his career on the creative side, John was also Chief Client Officer at OMD where he ran the Rogers Communications and PepsiCo media accounts, among others. While at Omnicom, he spearheaded an initiative to create Red Magnet, an integrated agency offering for Rogers centered around activation of data to optimize media and CRM planning and provide insights to improve creative.

John’s client experience is vast. He’s worked across almost every category and in every channel. A few prior clients include Chevrolet, Cadillac, Rogers Communications, Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank North America, PepsiCo (Canada & US), Amazon Prime Video (global), IBM, Unilever (Canada & global), Kimberly-Clark, Mondelez, Pfizer, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s, WIND Mobile (now Freedom) and more.

“We’re beyond excited to have him join us,” said INNOCEAN Canada president and CEO, June Hong. “His experience at smaller independent and bigger network shops, coupled with leadership in creative and media, are a perfect match for Innocean Canada with its large full-service offering, entrepreneurial spirit, and big ambitions."

“INNOCEAN has an amazing commitment to people, culture and creative that drives business.” Says Killam. “They’ve been recognized by the Great Place to Work Institute® Canada for three consecutive years, and they were one of the fastest-rising companies on the 2023 Creative Power List. It’s a large, well-established team with a vast set of capabilities, yet it still feels fresh and vibrant with a ton of momentum. I’m honoured to join and excited to help build on this strong foundation by driving growth in both capabilities and the client roster. I believe a lot of marketers are going to be equally excited by what they find here.”

“John is an exceptionally versatile ‘digital native’, with a strong element of automotive but an incredibly broad array of brand and category experience” adds June. “His track record at driving growth is fueled by his relentless pursuit of new business and his sights set on quality, and creativity - hence the recognition his teams have received from Agency rankings to Strategy AOY to Cannes. His drive is well matched to ours and will accelerate our transformation and business growth. As INNOCEAN celebrates its 15th anniversary in Canada we look forward to moving INNOCEAN forward, together, in a very big way.”