Jack Morton Worldwide announced this week that Nigel Downer has been appointed SVP and head of Jack Health U.S.
In the new role, Downer will lead the healthcare specialty practice with a focus on increasing its collaboration across the IPG Health and DXTRA Health networks.
Downer is a healthcare marketing veteran, having worked at Jack Health for four years as a leader in healthcare growth in experiential and integrated areas for the agency. He also has more than 15 years of diverse healthcare experience in several therapeutic areas. His client experience is robust, including several bluechip pharma names like Merck, Novartis, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Regeneron, among many others.
Before joining Jack Health, Downer served as VP of strategic development for Evoke, a 2022 MM+M Agency 100 honoree. He also had prior stints at Cadient Group, ProtonMedia and VisionTree Software.
As part of a series of larger organizational leadership moves conducted by Jack Morton Worldwide, Downer replaced Melinda Lindland, who was promoted to EVP and head of growth.
Jack Morton unveiled the series of leadership changes Thursday, elevating Sharon Crichton to chief operating officer and naming Natalie Ackerman as chief people officer.
“Great people are fundamental to who we are and what makes Jack Morton special,” Global co-president Craig Millon said in a statement.
These are the latest personnel moves for Jack Health, which named four executives to roles within the company in October. Among these was naming Jamey Hardesty as SVP, senior director of strategy; Sohini Mitra as SVP, director of client services; Dr. Jayaram Daggumati, PharmD, RPh, BCMAS, as a healthcare content strategist; and Becky Dreps as an account director.
“At the heart of Jack Health is our extraordinary people. It’s why we continue to thrive. This team’s endless smarts and deep understanding of complex business issues amaze me,” Lindland said in a statement at the time.
Beyond Jack Health, there was another notable agency personnel move this week as Dentsu Health named Eduardo Tavares, formerly of Area 23, as executive creative director. This was the agency’s second major announcement of 2023 after promoting Greg Reilly to president.
