GfK brings together US healthcare businesses

US-- GfK has reorganised its healthcare operations in the US, merging GfK Strategic Marketing, GfK Market Measures and GfK V2 into a new entity – GfK Healthcare.

The firm first announced a “comprehensive restructure” of its UK and US healthcare businesses last November following an unsatisfactory financial performance in the first nine months of 2008. GfK said at the time that it was looking to make “significant cost savings” on both sides of the Atlantic and had axed 40 jobs in the US and UK over the course of the year.

GfK Healthcare CEO Richard Vanderveer told Research that 15 admin and support jobs had been cut in the US as the merger created duplicate positions in the new entity. However, Vanderveer said the firm was looking to take on new staff in client-facing roles.

The three companies' management will all take new roles at GfK Healthcare: Barry Zimmerman, former president of GfK Market Measures, will serve as president and chief operating officer of the newly merged company; Dan Fitzgerald, former group executive vice president of GfK Healthcare Companies, has been appointed chief financial officer; and Brian Hull, the former president of GfK Strategic Marketing, will serve as chief consulting officer.

Elsewhere, former GfK Market Measures chief operating officer Jim Callandrillo and chief marketing officer Maureen McLaughlin have been appointed chief research and operations officer and chief marketing officer respectively.

Author: James Verrinder