IPG Health Bolsters Leadership Across Canadian Agencies
Move Aligns McCann Health Canada and FCB Health Toronto Under Proven AREA 23 Leadership
IPG Health announced a new, dynamic leadership team in Canada, appointed to support the growth of its recently aligned McCann Health Canada and FCB Health Toronto agencies. The announcement comes seven months after the creation of IPG Health, which aligned all FCB Health and McCann Health agencies globally under one network and a unified leadership team.
In Canada, this strategy sees powerhouse duo, Renee Mellas and Tim Hawkey, two proven IPG Health leaders, extending their responsibilities to include management of McCann Health Toronto, McCann Health Montreal, and FCB Health Toronto offices. Over more than a decade, Mellas and Hawkey’s leadership and client prowess has propelled full-service agency, AREA 23, and medical communications agency, AREA 23 On Hudson, to growth and unparalleled creative reputation.
Mellas and Hawkey will partner with longstanding McCann Health Canada leaders, Neill Brown, President, and Sean Reilly, Executive Creative Director, and FCB Health Toronto leaders, Leah Frazer, Managing Director, and Ken Schick, Executive Creative Director. Together, this newly assembled leadership team is already optimizing the network’s offering and fostering greater connectivity and collaboration across the Canadian agencies.
“Across the board, IPG Health agencies, including McCann Health Canada and FCB Health Canada and have a long history of collaborating around some of our biggest clients, so this alignment is really a natural progression,” said Renee Mellas, Group President of AREA 23, AREA 23 On Hudson, and IPG Health in Canada. “Now that we’re united under one banner, our focus is on unlocking greater interconnectivity and interoperability between our Canadian offices and the broader IPG Health network.”
These leadership appointments build on the momentum and growth across IPG Health Canada agencies. Most recently, McCann Health Canada earned the prestigious ‘Great Place To Work In Canada’ certification in 2021, distinguishing the agency as ahead of the pack.
Tim Hawkey, Chief Creative Officer of AREA 23, AREA 23 On Hudson, and IPG Health in Canada said: “Each of these agencies bring a venerable reputation, incredible leadership, and best-in-class talent. They’ve achieved so much individually, and collectively, we can’t wait to take our clients and our people to event greater heights.”
Mellas and Hawkey bring a spirit of creative invention and a proven leadership track record. Under their leadership, AREA 23 has been consistently recognized with the highest industry awards and honors, including earning the coveted “Healthcare Agency of the Year” title and two Grand Prix honors for their SICK BEATS innovation with Woojer at Cannes Lions 2020/2021. At the 32nd annual Manny Awards, AREA 23 took home “Most Admired Agency” for the sixth consecutive year and “Most Creative Agency” for the sixth time overall. Notably, AREA 23 On Hudson won Silver for Medical Communications Agency of the Year at the 2021 MM+M awards – the first time the program recognized the medical communications specialized offering in their Agency of the Year categories.
About IPG Health
Home to FCB Health and McCann Health agencies, IPG Health is a global collective of the world’s most celebrated and awarded healthcare marketing agencies. We are 5,000+ people across six continents, all singularly focused on accelerating progress in health for good and for all. With science, creativity, technology and data at our core, IPG Health makes science approachable, understandable and actionable. With 45+ agencies, including 18+ specialized units, our integrated approach to a broad range of communications capabilities ensures we can help clients improve outcomes and quality of life for healthcare audiences around the world. Our clients include the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies as well as countless startups, biotech companies, biopharma companies and a variety of life science companies. IPG Health is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG). Visit ipghealth.com to learn more.