Alfred Jackson, a Washington-based leader in health communications, advocacy and public affairs, will lead the U.S. offer, working alongside the wider business as it continues to expand globally.
Jackson brings over 20 years’ health care advocacy and public affairs experience in Washington to Portland. His experience includes leadership positions in multiple agencies, medical societies and associations. He has also lead work for biotech, rare disease and pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, medical professional societies, trade associations and patient advocacy groups.
“The rapid growth of our business, both in terms of diversity of clients and geographies, means that expanding our offering into the U.S. is the next stage in our development.” said Dr Jane Brearley, Partner and Head of Portland’s global Health team, headquartered in London.
U.S. General Manager David MacKay said: “We are keen to build on the reputation that Portland has earned in the U.S. and Alfred has the perfect mix of agency experience, senior leadership and strategic relationships across the health and government sectors to deepen our offering to U.S. and global clients. We’re very excited to welcome Alfred to the Portland team.”
Jackson said: “The opportunity to help Portland expand its impressive health footprint to the U.S. market is an incredible opportunity. Jane and the Portland Health team understand and practice health public affairs every day. They recognise the importance of legislators, regulators and influencers in shaping the course of treatments, issues, companies and organisations in the U.S. The questions that matter most in health care – including access to therapies, measuring value, setting reimbursement and appropriate pricing – are being driven, for better or worse, by Washington.”
Jane said: “To be successful, we believe that biotech companies, innovators exploring treatments for rare disease, advocacy groups, pharma companies and others must develop and execute integrated marketing and communications strategies that include all key audiences. The U.S. health care market is rapidly evolving. Portland will help clients navigate the quickly changing landscape.”
In addition to his work in healthcare, Jackson has extensive public affairs and government relations experience. His clients have included large corporations, foreign governments, federal agencies, state governments and not-for-profit organisations.