MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — San Francisco-based Allison + Partners is bolstering its presence in Silicon Valley with a new office headed by Monika Raj. 

Already, Allison has built a tech practice from its San Francisco office that counts Dropbox, Mozilla, Samsung and What’s App as clients.

The Mountain View operation is intended to be complementary by focusing on Silicon Valley prospects and expanding the firm's talent pool. Allison works under a single profit-and-loss center across its 14 offices.

Raj says, Allison’s experience in the consumer sector — which includes clients Best Western and Toyota — makes it ideal for helping tech companies appeal to broader audiences.

Since 2011, Raj has run her own Silicon Valley firm Influent Communications that has reach in India. Her joining Allison, however, is not an acquisition of Influent. 

“Influent’s destiny is being decided as we speak,” she said, adding that options for existing clients are being determined. Raj’s background also involves work with IBM’s Smarter Planet and being an early employee at LinkedIn.

CEO Scott Allison said Raj’s experience in Southeast Asia "is an added benefit" that complements the firm’s endeavors in Asia led by David Wolf. 

“We never had a Silicon Valley office before because we never set out to be a tech firm," Allison said.  "We looked to establish a larger North American footprint. But over time, as we’ve continued to grow, we’ve seen a lot of our clients  and talent in Silicon Valley.”

Allison reported about $25 million in fee income in 2012. Two years ago, MDC Partners bought a majority stake in the agency.