GCI Health expands into Asia
GCI Health has opened a new head office in Singapore, expanding its reach into the Asia-Pacific region.
There, the company will focus on four services areas: life sciences, market access communications, strategic consulting and consumer wellness.
GCI Health said that the expansion was driven by the agency’s growing international client base and increased work in the region.
Rikki Jones, GCI Health’s European managing director, will head up the new offering and will relocate from London to Singapore.
Rikki Jones, GCI Health
She said: “The opportunity for GCI Health to play a meaningful role in the fast-evolving Asian healthcare markets via the combination of our global culture and local expertise is hugely exciting.”
“The region has very specific communications needs and opportunities which we look forward to more fully servicing via our footprint expansion.”
Jones will report into the company’s CEO Wendy Lund, who said: “With Asian healthcare systems and markets rapidly evolving, the need for specialist agency expertise does too.
“As a health dedicated agency with an established, deep and diverse presence in the Americas and Europe, the time is right to expand our local capability in Asia. Rikki is an exceptional and passionate leader with an incredible record of building teams renowned for client service excellence. I’m thrilled to have her heading our Asia-Pacific business.”
Lucid Group adds to Futures Academy
Lucid has welcomed six new graduates into its training programme Futures Academy, which was launched in 2017.
The academy develops new talent via an eight-week course, specifically designed for graduates entering the industry for the first time.
After the course, graduates then move into two different placements for the rest of the year, focusing on writing and account handling.
Angela Young, HR Director commented, “The Futures Academy provides a fantastic platform for graduates entering into the industry to learn from the best, get inspired, explore their talents and realise their ambitions. It’s a true reflection of the human-centric and pioneering spirit of Lucid Group – individuals and teams working together to nurture talent and create magic.”
Ashfield’s medical writers graduate
Ashfield Healthcare Communications has seen its first cohort of medical writers graduate from training programme Allegro.
The 12-month fast-track programme, which offers aspiring scientific writers the opportunity to build upon their writing skills, was launched a year ago, and since then it has attracted 230 candidates.
Neil Marmont, Allegro’s Programme Director, said: “This is an exciting day that marks the culmination of 12 months of hard work from our initial Allegro intake, proving that a focussed approach on learning and development can inspire individuals to achieve great things at an early stage in their career.
“Today, we are able to allocate 14 capable Medical Writers to agency teams based on individual strengths, ensuring they are in the best place to support our customers and to develop their careers moving forwards. We look forward to the graduation of subsequent intakes over the coming months.”
The company plans to increase recruitment to Allegro this year, expanding the geographic reach of the programme, with rotation and placement opportunities available in all office locations across the UK.