Claire Gillis has been appointed executive managing director, Europe at greyhealth group (ghg) as part of a major reorganisation of the WPP company’s operations on this side of the pond.
The newly-created position will see Gillis lead a new, client-focused executive team that will operate across Europe and she told PMLiVE its members would be announced around the middle of September.
The New York-headquartered healthcare communications group said its new structure would allow it to meet local country and continental needs with “cohesive systems and a combined talent pool”.
Gillis was previously CEO at ghg’s UK-based market access consultancy The WG Group, which she co-founded and led, and its leadership will remain under her new remit.
She told PMLiVE: “Markets are evolving faster and in a way we couldn’t have predicted even five years ago with new audiences, new players and new technologies to access them. What hasn’t changed is the need to tell powerful stories in creative ways that make people think, but more importantly behave, differently.
“This is what our clients come to us for – they see us as trusted advisors, that help them to navigate the complex EU environment in a function-agnostic way.”
In addition to market access, Gillis will work with ghg’s advertising, medical education and strategy teams in the UK and across Europe as she seeks to expand the agency’s capabilities and create a “differentiated brand in the global marketplace”.
In her new role she will continue to report to ghg’s global CEO Lynn Vos, who praised her as a “true entrepreneur”.
“Under her leadership, ghg will operate as one united team, leveraging her US experience and combining capabilities from both the UK and from across EU to ensure that our mantra, ‘communication is the cure’, resonates and optimises brands at all parts of the lifecycle,” Vos added.