Global independent marketing and communications agency FINN Partners announced today that SPAG, a leading, Asia-headquartered, health-sector communications and marketing firm with offices in Bangalore, Delhi, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mumbai, the Philippines and Singapore joins FINN Partners. SPAG serves global biopharma companies, health trade associations and health provider systems and is one of the region’s top award-winning agencies. Aman Gupta, SPAG founder and managing partner, joins FINN as a managing partner and lead for the Agency’s Health Practice throughout Asia.
SPAG becomes part of the FINN Asian region, overseen by Howard Solomon, founding managing partner, who also leads FINN efforts on the West Coast of the US. In his new role, Aman Gupta will work closely with Global Health Practice colleagues Gil Bashe, Chair Global Health and Purpose, and Fern Lazar, managing partner and Global Health Practice Lead. SPAG Co-Founder Shivani Gupta, joins FINN as managing partner, Culture and Brand Reputation, Health Asia, and will focus on building brand communications and Practice culture throughout Asia. Both become members of the agency’s Global Health Practice leadership team, which is facilitated by Lazar. SPAG Asia will now be branded as “SPAG, a FINN Partners Company.”
The addition of SPAG strengthens FINN’s position as home to one of the world’s largest independent Health Practices, with almost $50 million in revenues. The addition of SPAG Asia increases the FINN total staff to more than 1,300 employees with more than 150 based in Asia with 275 professionals worldwide dedicated to the health sector. There are no staff redundancies or client conflicts.
“Among the hallmarks of SPAG is our recognized passion for our people and clients,” commented Aman Gupta, who, before founding SPAG in 2013, held executive positions at agencies and Bio-Pharma companies, including Imprimis Life (part of Perfect Relations Group) and Lupin Laboratories and Ranbaxy. “Joining FINN enables us to bring additional cutting-edge services, geographic reach, and health-sector and digital expertise to our clients. During the past year, SPAG and FINN worked side-by-side to support client efforts, and this new relationship – based on shared values – expands our services capabilities and opens doors to wonderful staff opportunities and knowledge-sharing around health developments and best practices,” he added.
Gupta, whose expertise includes Global Health, biopharma and provider health system clients, has been recognized as one of the ‘Top 25 Innovators’ by PRovoke Media, Asia-Pacific, for shaping influence and engagement in an era of dramatic marketing and communications disruption. He was the first and only Asian to make it to the TED Fellow list in 2003. Gupta was also listed in the PRWeek Global Powerbook as one of the brightest and most influential PR professionals worldwide. He has been honored as “Communicator of the Year” for Industry Association at the Fulcrum Awards.
“Asia is paving the way for global health innovation, and clients eager to engage can generate greater value by taking bold, strategic action in the region,” said Peter Finn, CEO and founding managing partner, FINN Partners. “We are proud to welcome this outstanding agency, which shares our passion for client success, to FINN. SPAG and its community affirm the good sense of our acquisition strategy, which focuses first and foremost on partners with shared values and missions. This infusion of health-sector talent in Asia – where we already have great strength in technology and travel in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore – builds on our collaborative approach to growth,” he added.
“The addition of SPAG creates a strong connection among existing FINN Health Practice hubs in New York, Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Jerusalem, London, Minneapolis, Nashville, Paris, Portland, San Francisco, Shanghai and Singapore, and opens new opportunities to serve clients globally,” reflected Lazar, managing partner and Global Health Practice Lead. “Aman Gupta, Shivani Gupta, and the entire SPAG/FINN team bring great expertise in public relations and marketing communications in the sector and a keen understanding of how Asia connects to worldwide health markets. We are very excited to continue our collaboration,” she added.
Gil Bashe, said, “The addition of Aman, Shivani and the incredible SPAG team – leaders in health marketing and communications – sends an important message that the greatest achievements of health innovation must reach everyone across the globe to make a difference in public health. When we consider Asia as a vast region fueling a significant percentage of global venture capital/private equity investments in digital health—$6 billion of $14 billion in the past five years, SPAG knowledge and expertise are key to realizing our shared mission of serving clients to improve human health,” he added.
“After getting to know Peter, Howard, Gil, Fern and the FINN team, it was clear that our values and goals align,” continued Aman Gupta. “Now, by joining our regional and global expertise with the benefits of FINN scale, reach, and highly respected health expertise, we can offer even more to the clients who have supported our agency’s journey. I’m eager to become part of this dynamic community, which recognizes that dedication to a shared mission is essential to unlock human potential and achieve greater success for clients,” he added.
“SPAG and the FINN Health Practice share the perspective that clients need access to high-impact creative across media channels to be successful across the health payer, product innovation, and provider sectors,” said SPAG Co-Founder Shivani Gupta. “Collaboration enables people to tap into each other’s knowledge and apply it to the great challenges facing health innovators of all sizes and sectors. We are thrilled to be on this journey together,” she added.
