catherine allenCatherine Allen, executive VP for Shift Communications in Boston, has moved to WE Communications as senior VP and GM for the Seattle-based firm's Boston office as it eyes the Northeast healthcare sector.

Allen led Shift's Boston and New York account teams and helped build a healthcare roster within the firm, which was acquired by National PR in May.

WE said the hire reflects a "fortified" presence in the key healthcare markets of the East Coast. Allen will oversee marketing and business development in the New England region. WE North America president Kass Sells called Allen "an established transformation artist" and an "instant asset" as the firms looks to build up healthcare business in Boston-centric fields like biotech and pharma.

Former senior VP and Boston GM Chris Stamm decamped in April 2015 for Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Allen spent 13 years at Shift after starting out in PR with Sterling Hager.