LONDON — Edelman UK has appointed Justin Westcott to the newly-created role of general manager, with responsibility for the agency’s sectors and specialisms offer and the technology, healthcare and bioscience teams. Westcott was MD of the technology practice for four years and will continue to lead the technology offer across EMEA. He will work alongside Edelman UK’s three other general managers to help the firm realise its integrated communications ambition. Gerry Wisniewski, a key member of the tech team for five years, takes on the role of MD, technology.

LONDON — Hill+Knowlton Strategies has appointed Wendy Naughton as EMEA practice lead for healthcare. Naughton joins from WPP sister agency Geometry Global where she was global category and shopper lead and headed up the global GlaxoSmithKline account. Her expertise includes trade and channel penetration, ecommerce strategy, new product innovation and pipeline development, consumer and professional marketing, sales leadership, strategic planning and cross-functional execution.

LONDON — The Academy has set up an in-house design studio and hired a creative director to lead its new design and branding offer. Robert Stimpson has worked as a brand consultant at agencies including Havas Media and his clients have included Shell Worldwide, British Gas, Transport for London, English Heritage, Wedgwood, Virgin Music, EMI, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, BBC, Channel 4, Inmarsat, Domino’s, Amazon, Morrisons and M&S. The Academy CEO Mitch Kaye said: “Bringing in someone as talented as Robert to head up The Academy’s branding and design offering is a really important move for us, and will help us deliver communication with impact for our clients.”

LONDON — Creative digital and behaviour change expert Jennifer Wilson (pictured) is launching a new wellbeing practice at global integrated communications agency Way To Blue. Previously director of Way To Blue’s Sydney business, Wilson has developed apps, games and wearables across the health, entertainment and enterprise sectors, including smoking cessation app MyQuitBuddy, which has almost 1 million downloads. Wilson will head up behavioural change and wellbeing programmes run out of the agency’s London HQ and will remain active across Europe, the US and APAC. Way To Blue CEO Adam Rubins said, “Jen’s work at Way To Blue using gamification techniques which shape behavioural change are nothing short of ground-breaking and we are very excited to see her role extend across the business.”

MILAN — Italian PR and consultancy firm Heritage House Reputation Architects has become a partner agency of PROI Worldwide, the global partnership of 75 independent communications firms. Heritage House was set up in 2014 and is based in Milan and Rome to advise clients across the healthcare, agribusiness & chemical, food & nutrition, transportation and manufacturing sectors. PROI Worldwide global chair Clare Parsons said the agency’s focus on corporate reputation, stakeholder engagement and CSR made the agency a natural choice to include in PROI Worldwide’s global partnership.

LONDON — Business intelligence and data science company Polymatica has appointed B2B technology PR and content agency Spark Communications to manage its UK PR. The brief includes messaging, positioning, thought-leadership and media relations targeting business users.  Headquartered in London with offices in Zurich and Moscow, Polymatica has already built an extensive customer base in Russia, including global retailer Mary Kay and B&N Bank.