Executive Hire Bolsters Syneos Health Advertising Agency’s New York Operations
Columbus, OH – May 24, 2021– GSW, a Syneos Health® agency and industry leader in healthcare advertising, named Andrew Schirmer as president, GSW-NY. Schirmer will lead the agency’s New York office and drive strategic results for GSW’s vast roster of domestic and global healthcare clients. He joins GSW from Ogilvy where he served as North America CEO, Ogilvy CommonHealth and president, Ogilvy Health.
"Andrew is known for his ability to build trustworthy partnerships and focus on results. His demonstrated success in cultivating a strong workforce and culture, coupled with his extensive category expertise, will serve him well in this new role,” said JD Cassidy, President, Advertising, Syneos Health North America. “As we continue to drive innovation and execute substantial campaigns on behalf of our clients, he makes an outstanding addition to the team. We’re thrilled to welcome him to the GSW family.”
Schirmer has over 30 years of experience in the health communications space, having served in numerous roles within multiple categories across various target audiences, geographies, and businesses. He began his career on the creative side of the business, first as an art director, then a creative director and ECD, before shifting into general agency management and leadership. He was a pioneer in the DTC movement that began in the early 1990s, was an early practitioner of CRM, analytics, and digital communications in the early 2000s, and has launched a number of new agencies within WPP, Omnicom, and IPG.
In his prior role at Ogilvy, Schirmer was tapped to lead the people, practice, and product offerings in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Toronto, and Montreal offices. He managed nearly 500 professionals across a diverse range of service offerings that spanned the health communications continuum from Payer/Access and MedEd/MedComms to HCP promotions, patient support, and DTC. Prior to his tenure at Ogilvy, he served as president of McCann Global Health and was the founder of McCann’s DTC offering, McCann HumanCare.
GSW is one of the world’s most awarded healthcare advertising agencies. In the last two years alone, GSW acquired more than 50 new brands and was nominated and short-listed for more than 50 awards, including being named the 2019 Med Ad News Most Creative Agency of the Year; recipient of a 2019 EMMY award; 2020 Most Admired Agency finalist; and numerous Cannes, Global, CLIO Health, Creative Floor, and ADDY awards.
About GSW
GSW is a full-service healthcare communications agency that goes beyond advertising to create personalized brand experiences that involve, inspire, educate, and activate people through ongoing brand journeys. Building partnerships with pharmaceutical, biotech, and health-and-wellness clients in 18 major markets around the world, GSW creates marketing solutions through a comprehensive and wide array of services.
GSW is part of Syneos Health Communications, a purpose-built portfolio of innovative health-first, health-only advertising, branding, medical communications, market access and public relations agencies. Powered by 25,000 clinical and commercial minds across Syneos Health®, the agencies operate at the intersection of health, technology, and creativity.
