• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 28, 2008

Ian Beavis, the former head of marketing at Kia Motors America and a Carat client in that role, has joined the agency in a senior position. Beavis--now Carat's executive vice president, executive client director--has extensive experience in the auto business on both the client and agency side.

Kia was a Carat client until earlier this year, when the Hyundai-Kia business moved to Initiative. Beavis left Kia in February.

At Kia, Beavis was vice president of marketing, public relations and product planning, where his duties stretched from advertising to research to pricing. Carat said he "is a recognized innovator and change agent who has embraced holistic marketing through new uses of traditional media, emerging digital technologies and consumer-focused strategies."

The colorful Beavis joined Kia in 2005 from Mitsubishi, where he was known, in part, for his decision to halt all national broadcast spending. Overall, he reportedly trimmed TV spending by 25%, allowing for increased Internet investment. (Spending on spot and national cable continued.)

Before Mitsubishi, Beavis ran the U.S. and Canadian Toyota business at Saatchi & Saatchi, and managed DaimlerChrysler's Asia-Pacific account for Bozell. He also worked in a senior marketing role at Ford--and was CEO of Foote Cone & Belding in Seattle and San Francisco, where he oversaw the global Boeing account.

Scott Sorokin, Carat president, said: "His client-side and agency experience provides invaluable perspective in how brands and their marketing partners can best work together to drive business results. He added that Beavis understands the "importance of a consumer-centric approach to marketing, which fits perfectly with our approach as a modern agency."