Porter Novelli appoints global director of health

Porter Novelli has announced the appointment of Paul George as its new global director of health.

Mr George spent the last five years of his career fulfilling various roles with fellow media agency TogoRun, working with major clients such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences, while prior to this he spent a decade with CPR Worldwide/Fleishman-Hillard.

He will take up his new position on January 1st 2013 and will also lead the healthcare practice of the firm's New York office, helping to deliver cross-border, cross-discipline solutions that are demanded by healthcare clients.

Mr George said: "Porter Novelli offered a tremendous opportunity for me to take the reins of a healthcare practice with a proven track record of establishing and growing relationships with healthcare brands and their stakeholder practitioners, advocates and patients."

The global agency also recently confirmed that Karen van Bergen will become the new chief executive officer of Porter Novelli at the beginning of next year, taking the reins from Michael Ramah, who has been serving in the role on an interim basis for six months.