SAN FRANCISCO - MWW has hired Atomic’s Christopher Knight as SVP and lead of its reviving San Francisco operation.

Knight, who begins on Oct. 15, will manage MWW’s seven-person office in San Francisco and report into EVP and Western GM JP Schuerman. Since joining MWW last summer, Schuerman has been splitting his time between Los Angeles and San Francisco managing both offices. Knight was previously a VP at Atomic PR.

“We’ve literally gone from one to seven people over the last 14 months in that office,” Schuerman said. “We’re focused on the convergence of consumer and technology with early stage clients and more mature companies. It’s a high-priority and growth market for us.”

Because MWW operates with a single P&L across the US, the San Francisco office works on several accounts hubbed in other offices, including Vimeo, Nikon and Air New Zealand. Samsung Mobile, Blurb and Newspaper Direct are among the clients based in the San Francisco office.

“There are a lot of agencies in San Francisco that know enterprise tech and the venture community -- but there are very few that understand consumer,” Schuerman said when asked about MWW’s selling proposition in the crowded San Francisco market. “When we win business, we’re hearing it’s because we came in consumer first.”

MWW’s San Francisco presence has been limited since Sharon Barclay left as GM of the office in 2009. After that, Bob Silver acted in a dual GM role for San Francisco and Seattle before leaving the firm in 2010. Knight is the first SVP in the office since this reshuffling, however, he will not assume GM duties.