NEW YORK: Hill+Knowlton Strategies has hired Chris Baszto as director of digital planning and optimization.
Based in New York, Baszto will be helping Hill+Knowlton clients build digital paid social, display, programmatic and search campaigns and conduct full website analytics and SEO audits, a statement from the firm said.
Hill+Knowlton did not disclose who Baszto reports to or how many direct reports he has.
Prior to H+K, Baszto was VP of digital for the Publicis Media agency Zenith, where he worked on clients like Reckitt Benckiser and American Express, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Zenith representatives did not immediately comment on Baszto’s departure or what its plans are for his position at the agency. Before Zenith, according to Baszto’s LinkedIn profile, he worked at Maxus Global for clients like Amgen, NBCUniversal Syfy network and Barclays.
Baszto’s hire is only the most recent of several senior level changes at H+K. Just last week, the agency nailed down the geographic responsibilities of two of its top leaders, deciding that Richard Millar would lead U.S. operations, while Lars Erik Grønntun will take over the agency’s operations in the rest of the world.
In early September, ex-Disney digital chief Matthew Briant was appointed to head up H+K in Singapore. Also, the agency hired Noor Kheir from Edelman to lead clients across the UK.
Last year, according to the PRWeek Agency Business Report 2019, revenue at H+K grew 3% to $400 million. H+K is part of WPP’s PR division which saw revenue decline 2.6% on a like-for-like basis in Q2. The division also houses BCW, Finsbury and Buchanan.
