Weber Shandwick Tokyo hires Jeffrey Gilbert to lead healthcare in Japan

Gilbert will report to Akihiko Kubo, president and CEO at Weber Shandwick Japan and work closely with global healthcare president Laura Schoen.

Originally from the US, Gilbert has a long history in the healthcare industry with 10 years' experience spanning across health agencies, non-government organisations, government and pharmaceutical companies. Previous positions include director of government relations and team leader of strategy and business development at Pfizer.

He has most recently managed his own enterprise called Gilbert Associates, assessing the impact of proposed government reforms and pursued initiatives such as the review of drug pricing strategies, field force deployments and drug wholesaler networks.

“With Jeffrey's deep knowledge and expertise of issues such as market-entry strategies, government relations and cooperation with international agencies and non-governmental organisations. I believe he will help companies tackle challenging issues in today’s healthcare marketplace in Japan and elsewhere in Asia,” said Kubo.

Weber Shandwick Japan also appointed Ian Messer as senior vice-president for the Tokyo operation in April this year. Other news from around the region include Valerie Tan joining in Singapore as VP of healthcare and Microsoft consolidating its regional PR practices under the agency.