inVentiv Health, a life science knowledge and services company for the new healthcare environment, has appointed of Jeffrey Wilks as president of its advertising businesses. Wilks will report to Mike Griffith, executive vice president, inVentiv Health and president, inVentiv Commercial.

Wilks will work to ensure that all of inVentiv’s customers are able to tap the company’s digital expertise across its line of advertising agencies—including social media capabilities and creative –to help them more effectively reach their target audiences. inVentiv’s advertising businesses include healthcare-focused agencies GSW, Palio+Ignite, Navicor, JSA, inVentiv Health Communications (Europe) and Addison Whitney.

Wilks joins the company at a seminal moment when advertising is undergoing a reinvention both in and out of the healthcare sector.

“The digital transformation of advertising and marketing within the technology and e-commerce categories has enormous potential and applicability in healthcare,” said Wilks. “The mobile health marketplace is racing to match the swift proliferation of on-the-go health apps, while traditional advertising is rapidly shifting to a content marketing approach. I look forward to advancing our capabilities, and the data-driven insights that guide them, across inVentiv’s agencies to help our clients achieve their goals.”

Wilks brings to inVentiv more than three decades of experience managing brand and integrated marketing businesses for leading global technology companies such as IBM and Dell Computers, as well as Delta Airlines, MasterCard and Johnson & Johnson. He joins inVentiv from eBay Enterprise, where he was head of client services in the Marketing Solutions Group. There he led a team that tailored technology-based marketing solutions for top brands such as Toys“R”Us, Wells Fargo and Sony. Before eBay, he was senior vice president, brand development at Gannett, working to re-position USA Today for the digital age.

Complementing advertising, inVentiv’s Commercial capabilities include sales teams and sales training, strategic and tactical market access services, non-personal promotion, public relations, medical communications, adherence services, and full management of commercialization teams. When combined with inVentiv’s CRO capabilities, the organization facilitates product development and commercialization intended to accelerate client performance.