GSW appoints Andrew Schirmer president of New York office

GSW has named Andrew Schirmer as president, GSW-NY. Management says Schirmer will lead the agency’s New York office and drive strategic results for GSW’s vast roster of domestic and global healthcare clients. He joins GSW from Ogilvy where he served as North America CEO, Ogilvy CommonHealth and president, Ogilvy Health.

“Andrew is known for his ability to build trustworthy partnerships and focus on results,” says JD Cassidy, president, Advertising, Syneos Health North America. “His demonstrated success in cultivating a strong workforce and culture, coupled with his extensive category expertise, will serve him well in this new role. As we continue to drive innovation and execute substantial campaigns on behalf of our clients, he makes an outstanding addition to the team. We’re thrilled to welcome him to the GSW family.”

Schirmer has more than 30 years of experience in the health communications space, having served in numerous roles within multiple categories across various target audiences, geographies, and businesses. He began his career on the creative side of the business, first as an art director, then a creative director and executive creative director, before shifting into general agency management and leadership. He was a pioneer in the DTC movement that began in the early 1990s, was an early practitioner of CRM, analytics and digital communications in the early 2000s, and has launched a number of new agencies within WPP, Omnicom and IPG.

Andrew Schirmer

In his prior role at Ogilvy, Schirmer was tapped to lead the people, practice and product offerings in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Toronto and Montreal offices. He managed nearly 500 professionals across a diverse range of service offerings that spanned the health communications continuum from Payer/Access and MedEd/MedComms to HCP promotions, patient support, and DTC. Prior to his tenure at Ogilvy, he served as president of McCann Global Health and was the founder of McCann’s DTC offering, McCann HumanCare.