Ogilvy CommonHealth Appoints Andrew Schirmer as CEO

Industry veteran looks to infuse agency’s traditional healthcare marketing services with added consumer wellness, and public health and policy offerings


PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide (www.ogilvychww.com), a WPP Health & Wellness company (NYSE:WPP) (www.wpp.com), today announced the appointment of Andrew Schirmer to the role of chief executive officer, Ogilvy CommonHealth (OCH) North America.

“Andrew exemplifies the values we hold dear: excellence in client partnership, support for our incredible people, and an unbridled passion for making the world a better and healthier place,” said Mike Hudnall, CEO of WPP Health & Wellness, to whom Mr. Schirmer will report. “His professionally diverse background in healthcare marketing, consumer wellness, and public health and policy positions him well to help accelerate OCH’s diversification and growth strategy moving forward,” he continued. “Andrew is a champion of great work and true visionary who will bring a human-centered leadership to OCH’s culture. I have complete confidence that Andrew is the right person to unlock the potential of our people and our business as we move forward.”

Mr. Schirmer replied, “I am thrilled to be coming back to Ogilvy CommonHealth, which is actually where I started my career. There is something rather poetic about this return to my roots. I’m really looking forward to working with the talented team at OCH to build on the agency’s past successes while also evolving to meet future challenges in healthcare marketing, including those emerging opportunities within the health and wellness, and public health arenas,” Mr. Schirmer concluded.

Mr. Schirmer joins OCH from McCann Global Health, where, as president, he oversaw the group’s global and public health unit. During his tenure there, Mr. Schirmer was responsible for leading the work the agency did for UNICEF, the US government, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and private sector organizations, and the groundbreaking “Immunity Charm” campaign, which tracks vaccinations on behalf of the Afghanistan Health Ministry, and for which the agency won a Grand Prix at Cannes Lions in 2017. Prior to that he founded and led McCann’s consumer health division, McCann HumanCare.

In his new role, Mr. Schirmer will be working closely with OCH chief operations officer Marc Weiner, managing partner Darlene Dobry, and Terry Cully, managing director of OCH’s offices in Canada, to help facilitate the ongoing transformation at OCH intended to better anticipate and meet the growing needs of clients. He takes over the CEO position left vacant by Matt Giegerich, who departed the agency last year.

About Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide
Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, a WPP Health & Wellness company, is committed to creativity and effectiveness in healthcare communications, everywhere. Our global headquarters are in Parsippany, New Jersey, with additional hubs in New York, London, Paris, and Singapore. We maintain multiple additional offices in markets critical to our clients’ global aspirations. Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide provides marketing services, including behavioral insights, content strategy and management, digital, interactive and new media services, marketing analytics and research, media planning and buying, medical education, payer marketing and market access, professional advertising and promotion, public affairs and relations, relationship marketing, sales training development, scientific communications, social media and social listening, and wellness and consumer advertising and promotion. The organization houses and maintains individual Ogilvy CommonHealth and Ogilvy Healthworld brand identities within the marketplace.

Contact:
Beth Paulino or
Kerianne Slattery
Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide
973.352.1000 tel

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/91bca5d2-8ee1-4957-8b2b-f1f8a8a680a7

Andrew Schirmer