Stagwell has appointed WPP veteran Wendy Lund to the dual role of Global CEO Allison Worldwide and to the holding company-level position, Vice Chair-Health. The appointment is effective Jan. 12 and she will be based in New York and report to Allison WW Executive Chair Ray Day and Stagwell CEO Mark Penn. 

Lund succeeds Jonathan Heit in the Allison WW role. Heit is leaving the agency. The vice chair-health position is new and signals a renewed interest in the healthcare space by the holding company. 

Most recently, Lund served as Chief Client Officer of WPP Health for the last three-plus years. Previously, she was Chief Communications Officer at Organon, a women's health company that spun off from Merck in 2021. Before that, she was CEO of agency GCI Health.  

As Global CEO of Allison, Lund will lead the agency's global business operations, including supporting expansion plans and business strategy. In her role as Stagwell's Vice Chair-Health, she will lead Stagwell's strategy in the sector and identify growth opportunities.  

In 2023 Stagwell sold healthcare agency ConcentricLife—its major offering in the space—to Accenture for $245 million. Stagwell gained control of the agency through its acquisition of MDC Partners.  

At the time of the sale, Penn said the proceeds would be reinvested in digital capabilities across the company’s agencies, as well for M&A and other uses.   

"Wendy's appointment as Stagwell's Vice Chair of Health underscores our commitment to giving clients in the healthcare space a new solution from a challenger brand with fresh thinking, nimble delivery-speed and tech-driven strategies, tools and execution," said Penn. "In addition, with Ray Day and Wendy partnering together at Allison, we're about to see what world-class growth looks like for Stagwell's largest communications and PR agency."