Ruder Finn beefs up health team

Ruder Finn Asia has moved to strengthen its regional healthcare operation, naming Efen Huang as specialist in healthcare communications, China, and Rae Chew as senior consultant in healthcare in the Southeast Asia team.

The appointments follow last year's departure of regional vice-president of healthcare Hope Ewing to head Burson-Marsteller's regional healthcare practice.

"It is important that we continue to add talent and build our dedicated team of strong healthcare consultants who have deep local knowledge and experience," said Louise Harris, Ruder Finn Asia president, in a statement.

Huang has almost 10 years' industry experience at Aventis, Roche, Organon and MSD, while Chew boasts former agency healthcare experience.

In previous years, Ruder Finn has often been viewed as healthcare specialists but has, over the past two years, diversified its offering to cover a range of practice areas, most notably automotive.