Douwe Bergsma, who brings a wealth of consumer business experience at some of the country’s most recognizable brands and who has presented at the White House, is joining Piedmont Healthcare as chief marketing officer.

Bergsma possesses more than 27 years of business experience, eight of them most recently as chief marketing officer of Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products. He also serves on the board of directors of the Association of National Advertisers, is the new dean of the Brand Marketers Academy at the Cannes Lions School and is an early and strong supporter of the global #SeeHer initiative, whose mission is to accurately portray women in media.

Piedmont places the patient at the center of all it does and its marketing efforts reflect this philosophy. Piedmont became the second healthcare system in the United States to publish unedited patient reviews on physician profiles and in its 2019 Fiscal Year (ending June 30, 2019) Piedmont patients self-scheduled nearly 200,000 appointments online, among the most of any organization of its kind in the country.

“With his high-level experience, Douwe will continue to lead us to greater connections, creativity and success in an area in which Piedmont has been a national leader,” Piedmont Healthcare CEO Kevin Brown said. “Our industry is incredibly complex and competitive and Douwe will help us to help our patients navigate those challenges. We are excited to have him as part of the Piedmont family.”

While at Georgia-Pacific, Bergsma was responsible for accelerating brand value growth primarily through brand building, design, consumer experience, and product and marketing innovation. He was its first chief marketing officer and was tasked with bringing a new consumer focus and transformation strategy to that arm of the business.

Prior to working at Georgia-Pacific, Bergsma worked with Procter & Gamble (P&G) for nearly 20 years, most notably as the marketing director of Pringles North America, where he led a turnaround, not just for the Pringles brand, but also helped to transform P&G’s marketing model and strategy.

“This is my first foray into healthcare and I’m excited to join a forward-thinking organization like Piedmont, which places great importance on patient experience and satisfaction,” Bergsma said. “It is meaningful to me to work for a purpose-driven organization that is making a real difference and that gives back to the community. I’m excited to be part of a team that aims to create a destination with the best clinicians and a patient-focused one-of-a-kind experience.”

Bergsma also is the new dean of the Brand Marketers Academy at the Cannes Lions School, a program that aims to develop 30 of the best marketers under 30 years old from around the world during the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity every summer. He is a member of the Data and Technology Pillar of the Global CMO Growth Council. He presented at the White House (2016), at the ANA Masters of Marketing, and at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

In addition to an accomplished marketing career, Bergsma is an advocate of diversity, evidenced by his role with #SeeHer, in which he has participated as a leader, speaker and proponent.

Originally from the Netherlands, Bergsma is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics & Business at the University of Groningen.