Weber Shandwick bolsters NA health team 

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New demand for AI-enabled data, analytics and intelligence, coupled with growth in regulatory communications needs, has fueled increased demand for the North American leader in healthcare communications 

 

Weber Shandwick has bolstered its North America Health leadership team in response to rising client demand. The appointments of Hannah Hurdle, Melissa Luke, Lauren Plate and Kate Fisher come on the heels of a period of more than 20 notable client wins in the first half of the year and significant organic growth.

 

The expanded leadership bench includes:

  • Hannah Hurdle, who joins as Executive Vice President, West Health Practice Lead and North America Emerging Pharma & Biotech Lead. Most recently, Hurdle was Managing Director, West Team Lead, at Sam Brown Healthcare Communications overseeing the company’s West Coast operations.
  • Melissa Luke, who joins as Executive Vice President, North America Health Strategy Lead. Based in New York, Luke most recently worked at Real Chemistry as Practice Leader across Strategy & Growth and will be responsible for driving data-driven strategic planning across the health practice.
  • Lauren Plate and Kate Fisher, who have both been appointed as Executive Vice Presidents joined to lead the firm’s critical client relationships. Plate most recently served as EVP at Edelman; Fisher was previously Managing Director at Real Chemistry.

Key drivers of new demand for Weber Shandwick’s Health practice include AI-driven data, analytics and intelligence – services now provided to the majority of the firm’s healthcare client base – and increased regulatory communications and policy needs. Learn more in PRWeek.

 

 “The need and potential for more narrative intelligence and precision in messaging has resulted in more client requests, as has growing demand for our services in health policy and science communications,” said Weber Shandwick North America Healthcare Lead Kelley Yoder. “We’re expanding our bench of leaders to bring more strategic muscle, sector fluency and a client-first mindset that equips us to meet the moment.”

 

Weber Shandwick’s healthcare practice – the largest of any North American communications agency, with longstanding client relationships – many that average more than a decade – has also taken home nearly a dozen creative awards this cycle. The firm’s “Vagina Privacy Network” campaign, conducted on behalf of global nonprofit MSI Reproductive Choices to tackle data privacy in women’s health, earned a Silver PR Lion at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and a PRWeek Healthcare award.