Ketchum appoints new UK healthcare heads

Ketchum has announced the promotion of Patricia Dessert and Harry King to the positions of joint heads of its UK healthcare practice.

The pair will provide strategic direction for the division, with Ms Dessert taking responsibility for operational decision-making and Mr King focusing on developing new offers for clients, as well as working with the agency's international Omnicom partners.

Ms Dessert has more than ten years of experience in healthcare communications and joined Ketchum in 2007, leading pharmaceutical and consumer health teams at its New York and London offices.

Meanwhile, Mr King joined the agency last year and is a former healthcare director at Porter Novelli, having worked in pharmaceutical marketing and comms since 2000.

Their promotion comes after former healthcare managing director Amanda Sefton was placed in charge of Ketchum's global healthcare comms business towards the end of last year.

This move comes after the agency named Denise Kaufmann as its new chief executive officer in London earlier this year.