The Bloc promoted Alessandro Seveso to CEO of the medical marketing firm’s office in Milan, Italy on Tuesday morning.
Seveso has been with the 2024 MM+M Agency 100 honoree for nearly four years. He joined as an integration and growth director and subsequently moved up the ranks to his current post.
Prior to joining The Bloc, Seveso worked as managing director and partner at medical device company Argon Healthcare Italia. He also spent four years at Amgen in the mid-2000s.
In this newly-created position, he is tasked with expanding the agency’s footprint in Italy as well as Europe. A company press release noted that under Seveso’s leadership, The Bloc Milan office has grown to employ nearly 100 full-timers.
Seveso said The Bloc’s mission in Europe is predicated on leveraging its behavioral science platform to connect with clients, healthcare professionals (HCP) and patients in a more impactful way.
He added that despite the increased competition in Europe, he believes The Bloc is well-positioned amongst its medical marketing peers due to its health-native background and operational capabilities.
“Here in Europe, patients are more and more important for pharma companies — that is a trend,” he said. “They are trying to be closer to patients, to connect the scientific communities to the patient communities. And we are well-positioned on those kinds of topics.”
Over the past year, The Bloc has been actively expanding in Europe through some strategic dealmaking.
In 2023, the agency established a consultancy division and joint venture called The Bloc in Germany.
That same year, it acquired an Italian health communications agency called Thenewway as well as a full-service health creative agency in Switzerland called X-Ray and formalized partnerships with both Impact Communications Partners and BioMedCom Partners.
Going forward, Seveso will be responsible for consolidating the organization’s operations in Europe and driving growth across the continental market.
While The Bloc is not planning immediate further acquisitions, he said it is focused on utilizing its existing capabilities and resources to drive success and maintain a competitive edge.
That’ll be important as The Bloc tries to build some positive momentum after a challenging few years.
From 2022 to 2023, The Bloc’s revenue slid 1% to $42 million, while its overall staff size was roughly unchanged at 180 employees.
Additionally, Seveso’s elevation comes nearly three months after The Bloc promoted two executives, Dan Sontupe and Matt Silver. Both of these executives will report directly to The Bloc’s global CEO Jennifer Matthews, who welcomed Seveso’s elevation in a statement.
“Alessandro’s appointment to lead our Milan office marks a transformative phase in our global expansion,” Matthews stated. “His deep understanding of the health ecosystem and proven track record in driving value for our clients make him an ideal leader to expand our European presence.”
