LONDON – Edelman has appointed Jenni Mercer as UK head of healthcare marketing as part of the firm’s expansion of its healthcare offer.

Mercer has more than 20 years of integrated healthcare marketing experience across APAC, EMEA, and UK markets. She joins from healthcare specialist Inizio Evoke in London, and previously worked at IPG specialist agency McCann Health as general manager for MENA in Dubai and latterly as global business director for the GSK and AbbVie brands.

The hire follows the recent appointment of Nils Giese to healthcare marketing lead for EMEA. Mercer will work closely with Giese and local market health leads across the region, as well as Eleanor Read, managing director for health in London, to broaden Edelman’s services to healthcare clients.

Read said: “Over the past three years we have been proactively diversifying our health work and team, to meet the evolving needs of clients, who are increasingly looking for integration within their agencies. This latest move builds on the strong foundations built out of Germany in brand sales support and our successful development of a robust global public health portfolio.

"Jenni’s experience and profile makes her the ideal partner for Nils and the perfect person to grow our offer from the UK.”

Over the past three years, Edelman’s health business within EMEA has grown by 44%, with new assignments for existing clients and the addition of new clients across all markets in the region.