FCB Health Network announces big hires and new initiative

FCB Health Network announces big hires and new initiative

FCB Health Network kicked off 2021 with prominent hires at several creative agencies. Jenna Brownstein joined FCB Health New York as group management director, Jill Lesiak joined Mosaic Group as executive creative director, and Marcus “Kawa” Kawamura joined Area 23 as executive creative director.

Brownstein reports directly to FCB Health Network president and CEO Dana Maiman. Brownstein is leading teams in providing the agency’s best-in-class services to existing clients, while bringing its world-renowned excellence to new business prospects.

“I’ve greatly admired FCB Health New York for many years, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally join the team and use my passion and experience to bring meaningful benefits to our clients,” Brownstein says. “The ‘Never Finished’ mantra of relentless innovation spoke volumes to me, aligning so well with the way I approach business challenges, partner with clients and build teams. There’s a reason FCB is revered by competitors and clients alike!”

Brownstein brings to FCB Health New York more than 20 years of experience in building and launching specialty products – such as neuromodulation devices and growth hormones – as well as global powerhouse brands such as Singulair, Taxotere, and quadrivalent flu vaccines. 

Lesiak reports to Kathleen Nanda, FCB Health New York chief creative officer, and oversees creative strategy across all clients and brands, helping Mosaic Group’s clients achieve their access and reimbursement goals.

With more than 20 years of experience in the market access space, Lesiak has spent the majority of her career supporting patient access. She also has healthcare marketing experience outside of the agency world, after holding previous positions with Express Scripts and Prudential Healthcare.

Lesiak replaces Denise Lenci, who, after six years with FCB Health Network, is retiring and will move into a consultancy role in which she’ll continue to share her payer and market access expertise with the agency and its clients. According to management, Lesiak’s and Lenci’s approaches to market access are founded on similar standards of excellence, forged from multiple years of working together in the industry.

“I’m extremely excited to lead the creative team at Mosaic, and I plan to continue Denise’s legacy of bringing innovative communications to market access,” Lesiak says. “Market access is core to the success of our clients’ brands, and we are at the forefront of merging creativity and strategy in this space so that we can continue to ensure patient access to life-changing therapies.”

As executive creative director at Area 23, Kawamura reports to chief creative officer Tim Hawkey. Kawamura is working closely with Hawkey to develop groundbreaking ideas that help clients reach their audiences in new and innovative ways.

“We are so excited that Kawa is joining Area 23, as he is a legend in the industry and I’ve been following his work and career for years,” Hawkey says. “Kawa will undoubtedly contribute to our mission to solve the world’s biggest health-communication problems with jaw-dropping creativity. Our agency values are Passion, Curiosity, Boldness and Entrepreneurship, and Kawa embodies all of these qualities hands down.”

“I was drawn to AREA 23 because they have transformed pharma advertising with their pioneering spirit and creative mindset,” Kawamura says. “I am strongly aligned with the agency’s commitment to exceptional craft, which has consistently led to outstanding creative results. I’m excited to have the opportunity to help the team continue to raise the creative bar in unique ways.”

In honor of World Cancer Day, FCB Health Network announced “The Trial for #ClinicalEquality,” an initiative dedicated to achieving racial equity in clinical trials. “The Trial for #ClinicalEquality” is being featured on a variety of print and digital platforms, including multiple American Cancer Society publications, JAMA Oncology, The Oncologist, BulletinHealthcare, AdPrime Health, DeepIntent, PulsePoint, MedPage Today, MD Newsline, HemOnc Today, Elsevier and eHealthcare Solutions. With language like “Put my cancer on trial” and “Let the data tell the whole truth,” the campaign creative plays with the definition of the word “trial,” while additionally using powerful monochromatic imagery of cancer patients.

“Suboptimal representation of Black and Hispanic patients in oncology trials has been a long-standing problem,” said FCB Health Network chief medical officer Sommer Bazuro, PhD. “We are hoping to leverage the attention on social justice that was reignited in 2020 to raise awareness about the issues that contribute to disparities. These include lack of access to trials, restrictive trial inclusion criteria and recruitment policies, implicit bias and patient mistrust of the healthcare system.”

Maiman says, “FCB Health Network is committed to equitable care for all, and through our work with our clients, we’re committed to developing behavior-changing messaging to that effect. Our agencies united to unleash the power of their creativity to inspire change, and now we are calling on institutions and advocacy groups to stand with us. This is just the beginning.”

 To learn more about “The Trial for #ClinicalEquality,” visit ClinicalEquality.com. To show the world how important clinical equality is to you, visit Change.org and sign “The Trial for #ClinicalEquality” petition.