AGENCY PEOPLE ON the MOVE

AGENCY PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Award winner Collette Douaihy becomes chief creative officer of dentsu health

Collette Douaihy has been named chief creative officer for dentsu health. In this role, management says Douaihy is dedicated to inspiring agency partners and clients to think big, bravely, and boldly in an ever-changing healthcare market.

“Since launching in April 2021, dentsu health has expanded its global capabilities across dentsu’s key service lines of Creative, Media, and Customer Experience Management, through a hiring spree of top talent,” the leadership team says. “Douaihy is the latest critical addition to this fast-growing team that is committed to raising the creative bar in healthcare marketing, especially in the pharma industry.”
Douaihy’s work has been recognized for creative excellence by the MM+M Awards, DTC Awards, Cannes Lions Health, RX Club, Philly Addy Awards, Creative Floor, and others. She served on the Health and Wellness Jury at Cannes Lions Festival, Clio Health Awards, The Global Awards, London International Awards, and The One Show.

“Collette is an exemplar among creative officers,” says Matt McNally, global president, dentsu health. “She has a passion for creating insightful and meaningful healthcare content that delivers better brand experiences. Over the years, she’s had the opportunity to develop award-winning creative campaigns that have helped solve serious health problems for patients and clients alike. Her breadth of experience contributes to her ability to differentiate products in crowded categories through smart positioning and unexpected creative.”

Douaihy joined dentsu health following her role as chief creative officer of Evoke, where she partnered with senior clients to ensure that the company’s wide range of capabilities was equally grounded in creativity, innovation, and human empathy. Prior to Evoke, she was the executive creative director at Digitas Health, where she helped create first-of-a-kind, category-shaping work for a range of clients, including Shire, Gilead, Sanofi Pasteur, AbbVie, and Jefferson Hospital.

“Creativity is the heart and soul of our business, especially for a sector like healthcare, we have the power to change lives and champion meaningful progress,” Douaihy says. “We believe there is an opportunity to apply more empathy to engage patients and HCPs navigating chronic diseases. I’m thrilled to be joining a team of diverse talents that dentsu represents. It’s an exciting time to be a creative working in healthcare marketing.”

Three new leaders at Evoke

Three key leadership hires have been added to Evoke’s executive team. Will Reese joins the agency as Evoke’s chief innovation officer, operating on a global scale and supporting all Evoke agency brands. Additionally, Evoke North America has added Rachel McCready as chief creative officer and Alexis Penty as chief strategy officer.

“I am thrilled to welcome Will, Rachel and Alexis to Evoke and our leadership teams,” says Reid Connolly, CEO and founder of Evoke. “Our continued growth and the evolution of the marketplace has given us the rare opportunity to bring on three renowned industry veterans and innovators to lead critically important capabilities at the agency. Our eyes remain on the future of healthcare and how we continue to bring our clients the most advanced thinking and the best solutions to drive real business results. This group of leaders brings immense experience to the team, and together, I’m confident that our ability to create the most meaningful experiences in healthcare for our clients and for the patients they serve will continue for many years to come.”

Reese brings more than 25 years of life science experience to Evoke and is overseeing customer experience, engagement strategy, and marketing technology, with a focus on omnichannel marketing. Management says Reese’s leadership will ensure that all Evoke agency brands are shaping the future of innovation in healthcare marketing and unifying data, marketing technology and omnichannel marketing practices to create unprecedented, personalized experiences for clients’ brands. Most recently, Reese was chief innovation officer for life sciences at Cognizant and President of Cadient, their life sciences marketing agency, where he led digital marketing transformation across industries – including pharma, medical, device, CPG, and healthcare. He has worked across numerous therapy areas including men’s health, women’s health, cardiovascular, oncology, diabetes and vaccines. He is a frequent speaker on innovation and CX best practices and has led numerous workshops. Reese reports to Connolly.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join Evoke,” Reese says. “Having worked with the team prior to joining, I quickly saw that the talent and culture here are unmatched. Evoke is connecting all the dots between CX, strategy, creative and technology like no other agency – I look forward to building upon this and ensuring we are bringing experiences to life in the most meaningful and human ways possible.”

A health-native creative, McCready has been building brands within the health space for more than 20 years, most recently as executive creative director at Klick Health. She also held creative leadership positions in both independent and network agencies and earned a reputation as a transformative agency leader who creates meaningful, impactful work for agencies and clients alike. Work created by McCready’s teams has been recognized by the Creative Floor, MM+M, 360, and the David Ogilvy Awards. She has served on juries for the Clios, the London International Awards, the Global Awards (the New York Festivals), and the Effies Best of Best. She was inducted into the MM+M Hall of Femme in 2021. McCready reports to Jen O’Dwyer, president, Evoke North America.

“I’m so excited to be joining the team – Evoke is taking creativity to a new level both in terms of how we approach client problems and the work we deliver. And there’s never been a better time for the ‘Health More Human’ mission,” McCready says. “We are all craving more humanity right now, and I believe 2022 will signal a strong return to all things ‘real’ – real human experiences, real art, real connections. Get ready to have some very real emotions evoked this year.”

Penty brings more than 20 years of experience to Evoke harnessing the power of customer insights to build formidable brands. She has led initiatives across a wide range of therapeutic areas: infectious disease, oncology, rare disease, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, men’s health, women’s health, and genomics. Penty is focused on leading and growing Evoke’s brand strategy practice across North America. Prior to joining Evoke, Penty was head of strategic planning at The Bloc and spent five years at Klick building the brand strategy practice and AOR portfolio. She was the strategic lead on award-winning campaigns that have been recognized at Cannes, MM+M, and PM360. Other past roles include global consumer advertising at Leo Burnett and insights and consulting with in-sync/Publicis Healthcare Communications Group. Penty also reports to O’Dwyer.

“It’s a privilege to work in an industry where what we do matters,” Penty says. “Evoke takes that privilege to heart; honoring human truths as the foundation for fostering positive change, Strategically, it’s about unearthing opportunity for meaningful human connection – in how we work as teams, as partners with our clients – and ultimately in how a brand’s purpose can inspire people. I see already that this is what drives the strategy team here, and why this team is succeeding in creating groundbreaking work. It’s exciting to be part of that and contribute to further fueling that spirit.”

Evoke KYNE promotes Jennifer Gallo, makes other senior appointments

Evoke KYNE has promoted Jennifer Gallo to executive VP, client engagement and business development. As a member of the senior management team, Gallo serves as global relationship manager for one of the firm’s largest client engagements and will continue to drive both organic and new business development efforts across the agency.

“Jenny is a purposeful and trusted client partner and team leader who fosters a culture of inclusion and creativity among her teams and the entire organization,” says Stephanie DeViteri, managing director, Philadelphia, Evoke KYNE. “During her tenure at Evoke KYNE, she has helped create and drive countless life-changing and award-winning campaigns and programs, always with the patient at the center.”
Gallo has more than 15 years of healthcare communications experience and has spent her career at Evoke KYNE developing patient- and community-focused communications programs, driving global thought leadership initiatives, and bringing highly complex scientific stories to life across mediums.

“As we navigate this time where equitable access to credible healthcare information is more important than ever before, I’m so proud to partner with our clients to elevate the diverse patient voices sharing their experiences and bring scientific breakthroughs to the world in a meaningful way,” Gallo says. “I feel lucky to work alongside so many passionate and dedicated health communicators in support of our mission to help advance health and wellbeing for people around the world, and I look forward to the impact I know we’ll continue to create together.”

The firm has made several additional appointments, including the promotion of Molly Grodin to senior VP, reputation and social impact, and Felicity Lang to senior VP. Grodin previously worked at the Population Council and EngenderHealth. Management says in her new role, she will drive social impact client engagements and help build out the agency’s offering in the space. Before coming to Evoke KYNE, Lang spent a decade at Ogilvy Health. As part of her new role, she will help foster and lead U.S. and global client engagements in hematology/oncology.

Evoke KYNE has also promoted Deirdre Millrood to VP and hired Charla Hawkins as VP, reputation and social impact. Millrood has more than 10 years’ experience supporting a range of initiatives including national consumer and healthcare provider disease awareness campaigns, patient, influencer and advocacy engagement and data and regulatory milestones. Hawkins joins the agency from CareMore Health, a patient-focused healthcare delivery system, where she oversaw public relations and communications programs to address community-level health equity and access challenges, create social impact and drive brand reputation.

Franklin Williams joins AREA 23 in newly created role

Franklin Williams has joined the AREA 23 executive leadership team as executive VP, director of experience design, reporting to chief creative officer Tim Hawkey. In this newly created role, Williams is leading the agency’s digital creative output and a team of experience designers, user experience (UX) architects and creative technologists to handle the creation of all digital products.

“We are thrilled to welcome Franklin to AREA 23, where he’ll work in partnership with our teams to bring to life technical product design,” Hawkey says. “What sets us apart as an agency is our focus on creativity and invention, and Franklin’s depth of experience in product design, UX and creative technology will help us build a best-in-class offering in digital design and delivery.”

A trained technologist who has spent his entire career in advertising working to find new ways to marry innovative ideas with brand creative, Williams has worked at agencies inside and outside of pharma. He has worked on big healthcare clients in oncology, rare disease, and mental health, as well as on consumer brands such as P&G, Citi, and Cadillac. His work has been recognized by prestigious international awards programs including Cannes Lions and the One Show.

“I was drawn to AREA 23 because of the agency’s vision, award-winning work, and desire to live in a future where we create and engineer utility-based products that make a difference for our end users,” Williams says. “I’m a maker who loves to push the boundaries of what’s possible and see the impact of our work on a community. It’s an exciting time, as I have the opportunity to take something that is working really well and turn it into a world-class operation. I look forward to seeing the life-changing digital work we will create for AREA 23 clients.”

According to Renee Mellas, president of AREA 23, “As an agency, we are continuing to prioritize digital and experience design – it’s always been a strength for us, and now, with Franklin on board, combined with other investments we have already made in marketing science and data integration, the sky is truly the limit. It’s not enough to be innovative anymore. You must be inventive. First, there was ‘SEE SOUND,’ then there was ‘SICK BEATS.’ We can’t wait to show you what’s next.”

Grey Group Global Health & Wellness practice bolsters creative leadership

Grey Group Global Health & Wellness practice bolstered its creative leadership by hiring Laura Potucek and Guy Mannshardt Bricio in the new roles of group creative directors, reporting to Tim Jones, chief creative officer, Pharma. “The recruitment and hiring of top talent send a clear signal to the industry that Grey is positioning for further growth and creative prowess in the sector,” management says. “The Health & Wellness practice at Grey has been on a new business rampage, winning 20 new clients since 2020 and adding over 150 people to staff in New York alone, and launching five new international Health & Wellness studios.”

Jones states, “We’re building something special here: a creative home where the best talent can have access to the best briefs in the world, in a team wholeheartedly dedicated to making them feel supported. Laura and Guy will round out our already robust creative leadership, joining fellow GCDs Ron Lewis and Josh Eastman at the helm of the department. I have carefully curated this team, and together we are on a mission to make our impact felt in the world of healthcare. I hope the industry is taking note.”

Potucek comes from the FCB Health network, where she worked at both AREA 23 and FCBCure. Management says her creative pedigree is evident in the multi-award winning work for “The Anti-Trafficking Exam,” and “Strikes without Warning” oncology campaign for Lazanda. Potucek also has a track record of leading the charge for change as the co-chair of the FCB WE Council championing inclusion, celebrating diversity, and providing career and development support. She has more than 19 years of experience launching and building pharmaceutical brands and has won multiple international creative awards from Cannes to Clio’s.

“I’m excited to join the growing team of talented creatives at Grey, and as a senior leader, to create an environment where creatives can thrive,” Potucek says. “I’m looking forward to creating work that truly captures the emotion and insights to change behavior and continues to elevate the craft in health and wellness creative.”

Bricio’s experience spans multiple continents and agencies, from Langland to AREA 23, winning a pride of Lions and helping his agencies win multiple ‘Agency of The Year’ awards along the way. Agency executives say his impeccable eye for art direction and design is evident in the “One Word” film for Constant Therapy and the gold Lion winning “Change Gout” campaign. Bricio has more than 10 years of experience in both healthcare and consumer and is a regular on international jury panels and award shows.

“Grey has an ambitious vision for Health & Wellness and I’m here to help us achieve that,” Bricio says. “I’m thrilled to join the agency at such a period of great momentum, and I can’t wait to partner with the team to produce inspiring, thought-provoking work. Work that can be recognized for its craft, but most importantly, for its potential to do good.”

LaVoieHealthScience Expands Media Relations Leadership

LaVoieHealthScience (LHS), an integrated investor and public relations consulting agency focused on advancing health and science innovations, appointed Tony Berry as vice president of media relations.
Berry is leading a highly skilled and experienced media relations team that includes industry veterans Shani Lewis, account manager, PR & Media Relations, who joined the firm during July 2021 and Howard Matzner, senior account executive, who joined the firm in November 2021. Management says the appointments reaffirm LHS’ commitment to becoming the agency of choice for integrated strategic communications, providing strong earned media and content development capabilities, as part of the firms’ strategic consulting, public relations, marketing, investor relations, and digital services practices.

LHS President & CEO Donna L. LaVoie stated, “We are thrilled to have a professional of Tony Berry’s caliber come aboard to lead the expansion of our media relations team. Tony has more than 25 years of demonstrated excellence in public relations, which includes agency and in-house roles with healthcare and life sciences organizations. He has developed numerous award-winning media and public relations campaigns that have elevated and differentiated his organizations from others in the industry. We will look for Tony to oversee the media relations planning, strategy, and execution for our health and science innovation clients.”