Avalere Health has moved Amar Urhekar a rung up the corporate ladder, promoting the executive to CEO after a little more than one year as chief operating officer.
Urhekar joined Avalere, then called Fishawack Health, as COO in September 2023. The appointment gave Urhekar a starring role in the company’s attempts to unite the 1,600 people who were brought together when U.K. agency Fishawack bought U.S. consulting and advisory firm Avalere in 2022. All business units reported to Urhekar after he joined the company as COO.
Now, Urhekar is replacing Jon Koch as CEO. Avalere said the change at the top of the company is part of a planned succession. Koch, who Fishawack appointed as CEO in 2021, will act as a strategic adviser to the Avalere board until the end of March.
Urhekar joined Avalere after a stint as group president at Evoke, a role he transitioned into as part of private equity group CD&R’s $3.7 billion acquisition of UDG Healthcare. Prior to the deal, Urhekar was working as global president of UDG business Ashfield Health. Earlier in his career, Urhekar spent 18 years at McCann Health, culminating in a period working as its president of the Americas.
Urhekar has drawn on that experience to oversee the transformation of Avalere into a company focused on advisory, medical and marketing capabilities. The changes are part of an attempt to meet the needs Urhekar believes clients have today.
“Clients need partners who can navigate the complex confluence of stakeholders, from healthcare providers to payers, policymakers, and patients,” the new CEO said. “They need a strategic partner that can be at the center of their business and understand the evolving challenges.”
Urhekar’s appointment follows the arrival of Corrina Safeio as Avalere’s president of global marketing and executive vice president of corporate communications. Safeio joined the company from rival firm Inizio Evoke earlier this year.