McCann Health promoted Marcus Sigurdsson to the newly created role of global chief digital officer. The move comes as the agency increases its 2018 digital budget to meet growing client demand for digital capabilities.

“More and more, pharma and consumer healthcare clients are realizing that marketing solutions must seamlessly integrate digital innovation and data and analytics to be successful in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape,” said Sigurdsson.

See also: McCann Health forms new global consultancy

As global chief digital officer, Sigurdsson will lead the expansion of McCann Health’s digital offering across its network and enhance existing digital capabilities for clients like GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, and Janssen. He will report to McCann Health global CEO John Cahill and work closely with McCann Worldgroup global chief digital officer Sean MacDonald.

“We have had some great successes in digital innovation and analytics, creating predictive analytics solutions and supporting our clients’ innovation initiatives,” said Sigurdsson. “In 2018, we intend to bring them to the next level through a number of initiatives and even closer collaboration with the rest of McCann Worldgroup.”

Sigurdsson most recently served as chief digital officer for the Asia Pacific region, a role in which he developed marketing models and platforms for pharma, telecommunications, and technology companies.