Golin Health has hired Erin Patton as EVP and associate managing director, a newly created position.

Based in San Francisco, Patton will support the entire U.S. operation, which consists of a team of 80 with a primary focus on growth, client service, innovations and talent development. Patton joined the agency in February and is reporting to U.S. managing director of Golin Health and Virgo Health Jaimee Reggio.

Reggio added Virgo Health to her remit at Golin Health earlier this year, overseeing U.S. operations for both health-focused agencies.

“I see tremendous opportunity with San Francisco, Seattle and San Diego, those being major biotech and life sciences hubs,” Patton said. “My career has touched so many of those companies in different ways, as clients, and I see a lot of potential for what we do as Golin to bring them the capabilities they need.”

Patton’s role will support the agency’s largest assignments, bringing new perspectives, innovations and IP to help clients solve business challenges currently facing the life science industry, the firm said in a statement.

Patton joins Golin from drugmaker Seagen, where she served as director of corporate affairs. At Seagen, she played a role in successfully communicating about oncology drug discovery and development, precision medicines and the impact of policies on innovation in these areas. The company was acquired by Pfizer for $43 billion at the end of last year.

Prior to Seagen, Patton worked for over a decade at Weber Shandwick, most recently as its San Francisco healthcare practice lead.

“As a former client, I do feel that in many ways I’m still in the client’s shoes and really understand the challenges they face,” Patton said. “I’ll be bringing that more across the board, across all of our clients to show them that we understand how therapeutic areas are transforming so rapidly and data is becoming more and more complex to communicate.”

The latest addition to the practice, Patton joins a series of female-leaders spearheading Golin’s health initiatives. To be surrounded by “powerhouse women” like Cori McKeever and Reggio was another reason Patton said that drew her to the agency.

Golin rolled out Golin Health in early October. Golin’s healthcare work has included a campaign for Siemens about COVID-19 testing and a myopia awareness campaign on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.

The agency named McKeever and Dawn Langeland as North America co-presidents in January; McKeever continues to serve as the agency’s global healthcare president, overseeing both the Golin Health and Virgo Health brands.

Golin reported a revenue increase of 11% to $355 million globally and a 13% increase to $225 million in the U.S. in 2022, according to PRWeek’s 2023 Agency Business Report. The firm was named one of PRWeek’s Best Places to Work in 2023.

This article originally appeared on PRWeek US.