The McCann Health communications network has promoted Charlie Buckwell to president of its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
He succeeds Michel Nakache, who is promoted to the newly-created role of president, global clients units.
Buckwell, who will continue to oversee McCann Complete Medical, but the network’s Double Helix Consulting and Double Helix Discovery units will now be led by Simon Holt.
Holt joins the network from Novartis, where he served as its global head of public policy and prior to that held global roles in health economics outcomes research and market access, based in Basel.
Before joining Novartis Holt was senior client partner at Korn/ Ferry in London, VP, EMEA consulting and services at IMS Health and Principal at AT Kearney Management Consulting.
McCann Health’s global CEO John Cahill said: “As the future becomes more complex and the healthcare industries continue to move through massive transformation, McCann Health is sharpening its focus on delivering more powerful, creatively-driven and integrated solutions to help our clients’ brands and businesses play a more meaningful role in people’s lives.
“With Charlie’s more than two decades of biopharmaceutical marketing and communication experience and his success in leading McCann Complete Medical (MCM) and Double Helix, he is well-positioned to further our growth and geographic reach in EMEA and help us to integrate MCM capabilities on a global scale.”
He added: “Simon, who has a deep knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry gained from a career in senior leadership roles in both management consulting and the pharma industry, he will play a key role as we evolve the McCann Health offering to meet and exceed the needs of our clients in the future.”
Buckwell and Nakache will continue to be based in the UK and France respectively. Holt will be based in UK and supported in his new role by Helix Consulting global head Suzie Denton Double and Double Helix Discovery managing director Fabrice Allum.