• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 30, 2010

GroupM's media and marketing services agency Maxus North America has named Jon Kaiser as its new digital director, where he will oversee all the agency's digital communications offerings in the U.S. and Canada.

Effectively immediately, Kaiser's responsibilities include developing and articulating the agency's digital efforts to clients and prospects, as well as directing the integration of digital capabilities with other agency services.

Reporting directly to Maxus North America CEO Louis Jones, Kaiser will also help create and implement new strategies and services for the entire agency.

Kaiser most recently served as a VP and director of connection planning at GreySF in San Francisco, where he oversaw an integrated planning team.

Despite a difficult market, WPP Group's GroupM posted new global billings of $2.9 billion last year. Part of the new pipeline is Maxus, taking on the global UPS business, and Mindshare, now working for pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim in the U.S.

"The agency is experiencing such tremendous growth," said Kaiser. "I'm impressed with the entire team."

Earlier in his career, he held senior management positions with agencies including Digitas, Modem Media, and Young & Rubicam in New York, where he built the agency's first dedicated digital media team in 1998.

Over time, Kaiser has worked with such clients as Microsoft, HP, Sony (Consumer Electronics), United Airlines, Dr Pepper/7UP, U.S. Army, Accenture, and Oracle.