Francis has joined Lilly – the pharma firm behind erectile dysfunction brand Cialis, which Red promotes in the UK, as a product comms adviser.
Francis was an account director at Red for three years and now reports to Andrew Day, who himself was recently drafted in as interim cover for Jeff Smith, who left to join Huntsworth two months ago (PRWeek, 10 September).
At Red, as well as promoting Lilly brands such as Cialis, Francis also worked for clients such as the Home Office.
His new role covers most product areas, including mental health, oncology, diabetes and osteoporosis.
Francis will also manage agency relationships – such as Lilly’s retainer with Red, which he said he had no plans to review.
Prior to Red, Francis spent two years at Burson-Marsteller and a year at Santé Communications.
Lilly UK director of corporate affairs Maxine Taylor said a full-time replacement for Smith had not yet been found, saying: ‘Andrew Day will continue on an interim basis – but hopefully for the longer term.’
