-By Brian Morrissey

NEW YORK R/GA has hired Jim Moffatt, AKQA London's director of integration, to lead R/GA's two-year-old outpost there.
 
Moffatt, 32, will helm an office with 30 employees and clients such as Nokia, John Lewis and SC Johnson. He is a veteran of longtime R/GA client Nike, serving for five years at the company in various roles, including director of brand communications in France and deputy head of brand communications in the U.K.
 
Moffatt, who starts at R/GA on July 28, takes over from Yuri Salnikoff, the Agency.com executive R/GA brought in to lead its London office and run the Nokia account in 2006. Salnikoff will continue to manage Nokia.
 
R/GA's expansion into new markets has placed it more squarely in competition with AKQA for talent. Until it opened in London, R/GA operated entirely from New York. Earlier this year, it launched an office in San Francisco, a move designed in part to help it hunt for more digital talent. Next month, former AKQA executive Mauro Cavelletti begins work in S.F. as executive creative director. Cavalletti previously served at R/GA before joining Organic, then AKQA.
 
At AKQA, Moffatt was responsible for managing teams on the Xbox and Nike accounts. He also worked on AKQA's Coca-Cola business in Europe.
 
Moffatt will report to Bob Greenberg, R/GA's CEO.