Independent full-service agency Innocean USA has hired Steven Nishimura as its first chief digital officer. He joins Innocean from Saatchi & Saatchi, where he managed the Toyota digital business.
Nishimura is a boomerang hire at Innocean. Prior to Saatchi, Nishimura was vp, group director, digital at Innocean, focused on the digital and CRM side for both the Hyundai and Genesis brands.
With 20 years of digital experience, Nishimura has worked on a variety of brands across automotive, financial services, telecom, CPG and spirits for brands including Lexus/Toyota, Nissan/Infiniti, Discover Card, HTC, Clorox, Stoli and Kahlua. He had previous stints at agencies including FCB Chicago, Team One, Deutsch LA and TBWA\Chiat\Day.
“Innocean already has amazing clients and strong digital capabilities. We have the talent and ambition to future-proof our agency. My goal is to help bring out our full potential by more closely tying these capabilities to where we want to go—our agency vision. Digital is no longer a standalone department” said Nishimura in a statement. “I’m excited to rejoin the Innocean family to further connect technology and creative throughout our entire agency culture.”
Nishimura will lead an expansion of Innocean’s digital capabilities, optimizing innovative technology solutions for processes, marketing channels and customer experience while providing a cohesive and effective digital strategy.
“We are delighted to welcome Steve back to the Innocean team as the inaugural chief digital officer. Throughout his time with Innocean he has continued to be a proven leader and innovator in the field. As we continue to grow our team and capabilities with purpose, Steve was an obvious choice as an integral part of our team,” said Steve Jun, chief executive officer, Innocean USA.
Nishimura’s oversight will include website development, increasing web traffic, SEO market metrics, creative analytics, CRM and innovation. He will utilize technology to improve client business performance.