NEW YORK — Evoke and Ashfield Health, which are both owned by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, have merged, creating a 1,400-person global operation.

The two firms will operate as Evoke, the Huntsworth firm founded and run by Reid Connolly. Connolly will retain his CEO position, while former Ashfield Health global president Amar Urhekar will serve as global president overseeing marketing and advertising specialty agencies.

Former Evoke Kyne CEO David Kyne will take on the new role of global president overseeing communications and PR specialty agencies.

The new organization includes 12 specialty agencies with areas of expertise including biotech, creative, scientific storytelling, healthcare policy, biopharma, brand growth, health and wellness and behavioral science.

The merger comes following CD&R’s acquisition of Evoke parent company Huntsworth for around £400 million in 2020 and Ashfield parent company UDG Healthcare 2021.

“Our market is evolving rapidly, requiring healthcare brands and organizations to be fluid, constantly transforming, and embracing of new technology into their marketing and communications to reach and engage their audiences in the most compelling way,” Connolly said. “This was the perfect opportunity to create a genuinely different proposition to anything else in the industry – one that thrives in this type of change, giving our clients the ability and confidence to relentlessly focus on building empathetic experiences for patients that build enduring value.”