As Global CEO of McCann Health, John Cahill was a driving force in establishing and growing McCann Worldgroup’s overall healthcare offering. Early in his career, Cahill co-founded CWFS Advertising – a leading health communications company in Australia and New Zealand – which was acquired by McCann Worldgroup in 1996. Following the acquisition, Cahill led McCann Health Asia-Pacific which he grew to include 12 offices in 9 key markets across the region, each one demonstrating best-in-class solutions for the network’s healthcare clients. Under Cahill’s leadership, McCann Health APAC was named Specialist Agency of the Year for four years in a row. In 2009, Cahill assumed responsibility for both McCann Health EMEA and APAC and in 2011, he was appointed Global CEO of the network.
Under his leadership McCann Health has more than doubled in size with a comprehensive global offer combining science, strategy and creative, delivering best-in-class services to clients. Its 2500+ employees in 60 offices across 20 countries are united by one vision: to help client’s brands play a meaningful role for healthier lives.
In 2020, Cahill was recognized as Med Ad News’ “Industry Person of the Year.”
In addition to working with many of the top life sciences companies, Cahill has a keen personal interest in global and public health and acts as an advisor to many organizations in this arena. His areas of endeavor include The Tobacco Control Framework, early Pandemic response and Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience with the World Health Organization; Maternal and Early Childhood Health (EWEC) with the UN; Polio Eradication with UNICEF; and being part of a multidisciplinary team assisting health improvement with many of the world’s major governments. Driven by Cahill’s abiding interest in public health, McCann Health’s public health agency, McCann Global Health, has worked closely with the USAID, GIZ, World Bank, PEPFAR, and the Clinton Global Initiative and created important health communications programs for UNICEF, J&J, and The Coca-Cola Company.