• by April 15, 2011

MDC Partners, the holding company for agencies such as Crispin Porter and Kirshenbaum Bond, has hired CNBC journalist/blogger and former corporate technology consultant Ash Bennington as director of strategic technology and innovation, a new post based in New York.

  His responsibilities will include the formation and running of MDC Ideas, an internal think thank tasked with identifying areas of investment, such as social media, digital convergence and business analytics.

After one year as a journalist with CNBC, "it's fun to be on the other side of the call," Bennington told Online Media Daily in his first interview as an advertising executive.

"I'm looking for great ideas," he said, noting that he will also serve as a "technology evangelist" to communicate what he learns to MDC's companies.

One of the areas Bennington plans to focus on will be the growth of social-media convergence -- both the convergence of advertising and content, and the convergence of social networking and mobile apps. But while "ideas on their own are a lot of fun ... we're looking to find shareholder value." Or, put another way, "how to effectively communicate information and find a way to monetize it."

At CNBC, Bennington reported and blogged on technology, economics, finance and banking. He said he will continue writing for CNBC.com as a guest contributor. Prior to joining CNBC, Bennington was an assistant vice president and technical expert at Credit Suisse and a vice president, e-commerce at BB&T.

MDC's digital-specific agencies include dotglu, henderson BAS and Hello Design. In addition, some MDC agencies have their own venture groups, such as brand development shop RedScout, which recently launched an iPhone app called Hapify.