BRUSSELS — GCI Health, WPP’s healthcare and medical communications agency, is expanding into Brussels to increase its presence in Europe and broaden its global public affairs offer.

GCI Health Brussels will offer clients government and public affairs, integrated communications and advocacy capabilities. It will be led by new senior director Neha Dave, who has latterly been a freelance EU healthcare policy and public affairs consultant and was previously the government affairs and public policy manager at medical devices firm MedTech Europe. She has also worked at Weber Shandwick and Hill+Knowlton Strategies.

Dave (pictured) will join GCI Health’s global public affairs and policy team, which is led by group SVP of public affairs and health policy Ryan Kuresman. She will oversee the expansion alongside UK managing director Kath Kerry.

Kerry said: “The addition of our new office in Brussels reflects our commitment to our growing EU client base and builds on the success of GCI Health’s offices in the UK and Germany. Our EU expansion will further enhance our ability to drive cohesive strategies across the region and mobilise on-the-ground support as needed.”

GCI Health expanded into Germany in 2019, with the transition of the healthcare division of sister WPP agency Hering Schuppener.

The further European expansion to Brussels follows GCI Health also extending its footprint in Asia-Pacific, with new offices in Japan and India announced earlier this month in additional to its existing bases in Singapore and Hong Kong. The agency was named as PRovoke Media’s global healthcare agency of the year for 2020 as well as one of the North American agencies of the decade.

GCI Health global CEO Kristin Cahill, who succeeded Wendy Lund last November, said: “Building a truly global and seamless team of health policy specialists, from Washington to Brussels and across our global network, further strengthens our reach and will help our clients navigate the complexity of healthcare policy across borders.”