Johanna Skilling
Head of Planning
Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, a WPP Health & Wellness company
Humanitarian and Expert Planner
With 20+ years of extensive healthcare marketing experience, Johanna Skilling has proven to be a strategic planner with global expertise who identifies powerful, relevant insights that drive and grow business.
Johanna dived into the strategic marketing arena in 1998 as EVP, Strategic Planning at Lowe Direct/Interactive, where she was the lead strategist for all of the agency’s direct, digital, and integrated accounts. Later in her career, she joined Wunderman Worldwide as SVP, Group Planning Director, where she developed insights leading to the most successful launch in Pfizer history (Chantix). Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness recognized her talents and hired her to overhaul the agency’s entire strategic offering. From there, she moved on to Havas Lynx, where she was promoted from within the Havas network to lead strategy for the flagship brand of Havas Health.
That brings us to her latest role at OCHWW. When she joined the agency in 2015, her first task was to lead the planning groups in the NJ- and NY-based offices. But first she needed to bridge the gap between the two offices—until she arrived they had been working independently of one another.
Johanna united the two groups under one focused mission to create a powerhouse strategy team. Additionally, she explored and revealed the areas in which the agency’s strategic thought process needed to adapt further in order to remain relevant in the ever-dynamic healthcare landscape. Under her guidance, the planning department has more than tripled in size, and dedicated planners are now an integral part of every client account, from pitch time onward.
In addition to her strategic leadership role at OCHWW, Johanna is an Adjunct Professor at the NYU School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies, with a series of intensive seminars, including “Strategic Planning for Marketers,” “The Best of Corporate Branding,” and “The 360-degree Marketer.” She is also a distinguished humanitarian who is involved in working with the United Nations and the PVBLIC Foundation, a non-profit media organization that harnesses the power of media to drive social change. In 2016, she received the Leadership Award from the PVBLIC Foundation for driving change through social media.
