Tony Burman has been promoted at Al Jazeera English, taking the post of chief strategic advisor for the Americas.

The former CBC executive, who oversaw AJE’s recent arrival in Canada, will focus on new projects and strategies in an effort to expand the 24-hour news channel’s reach, reputation and profile. AJE is set to open a Canadian news bureau next month, followed by additional bureaus in the U.S.

Burman has been AJE’s managing director since 2008. He will remain at that post, in Qatar, until the end of June when he takes up his new position and relocates to North America. He will also remain a member of the network’s senior executive team.

Burman spent eight years as editor-in-chief of CBC News while also working across the U.S. and Latin America. AJE formed in 2006 and became available in the U.S., during Burman’s tenure, in Washington, DC in 2009.