LONDON—GE Healthcare has hired FTI Consulting to help oversee its global communications strategy.

The $18bn healthcare company selected the agency following a competitive review. FTI Consulting is tasked with a broad range of duties, including campaign support, storytelling and global product PR.

"GE Healthcare selected FTI after a rigorous review of some extremely talented global agencies," said GE Healthcare chief communications officer Jeff DeMarrais. "As we support GE's overall campaign,
articulating how 'GE Works,' FTI will help drive our storytelling campaigns in oncology, neurodegenerative disease and the Industrial Internet."

"They will also ensure that our global product PR remains both relevant in specific regions; and aspirational in a way that supports the GE brand," added DeMarrais.

GE Healthcare, which sells medical imaging systems, diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery tools and medical equipment repair services, has demonstrated solid growth in recent years, despite spending cuts affecting its imaging business.

An expanding footprint in Asia-Pacific and Latin America means that the unit accounts for around 12% of total GE sales. Earlier this year GE Healthcare boosted its high-growth life sciences unit by spending $1.06bn on cell culture and other businesses from Thermo Fisher Scientific.

While FTI's role involves global strategy development and execution, GE Healthcare's local market agency relationships remain unaffected.