SPAG, Leading Asian Integrated Health Communications and Marketing Agency, Joins FINN Partners

The Move Makes FINN One of the World's Largest Agencies in Health Innovation and Increases SPAG Global Service Capabilities and Offerings for Clients

SPAG Founder Aman Gupta to Lead FINN Health Practice Throughout Asia; SPAG Co-Founder Shivani Gupta Appointed FINN Managing Partner, Culture and Brand Reputation, Health Asia

NEW DELHI and NEW YORK and SINGAPORE, July 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  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."

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."

"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."

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."

"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."

"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."

About SPAG
SPAG is a health specialist, independent, award-winning Public Relations and Advocacy firm operating across Asia. In the last seven years of its journey, SPAG has been named Global New PR Agency in 2015, Asia-Pacific Healthcare Agency of Year (2017 & 2019) at Sabre awards, and Large Agency of the Year in 2021 & 2022 by E4M (IPRCCA). 

It is reputed for offering bespoke communication strategies to shape conversations, influence perceptions, cultivate constructive knowledge and keep the dialogue going. As an integrated communications entity, SPAG harnesses the potential of a phenomenally diverse universe of conversations to shape the narrative for a better world.

About FINN Partners, Inc.
Founded in 2011 on the core principles of innovation and collaborative partnership, FINN Partners has grown from about $24 million in fees to almost $200 million in fees during the past 10 years, becoming one of the fastest-growing independent public relations agencies in the world. Recognized as a PRovoke Media 2022 Agency of the Year, the full-service marketing and communications company's record-setting pace results from organic growth and integrating new companies and new people into the FINN world through a common philosophy. With more than 1,300 professionals, FINN provides clients with global access and capabilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. In addition, FINN provides its clients with access to top-tier agencies worldwide through its membership in the global network PROI.

Headquartered in New York, FINN's other offices are in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Delhi, Denver, Detroit, Dublin, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Guam, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Indonesia, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Minneapolis, Mumbai, Munich, Nashville, Paris, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, Southern California, Vancouver, and Washington D.C. Find us at finnpartners.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @finnpartners.

Contacts:
Celia Jones, Global Director, Marketing Communications
[email protected] 
+1 773 885 9781

Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Chair Global Health and Purpose
[email protected]
+1 732 371 0922

Aman Gupta, Founder SPAG Asia, and Managing Partner, FINN Health Practice Asia Lead
[email protected] 

SOURCE FINN Partners