Continued Growth at HLS


PARSIPPANY, NJ--(Marketwire - June 9, 2009) - HLS, the founding medical-education unit of CommonHealth, today announced four promotions and seven new hires.

CommonHealth (www.commonhealth.com) is the world's leading healthcare-communications network and a WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) (www.wpp.com) company.

Promotions

Dr. Michael Pucci has been promoted from medical director to senior medical director. As such, he will provide scientific and clinical expertise and supervise all medical affairs and writing for his assigned brand teams.

Gregg Machak, a 20-year veteran at HLS, has advanced to senior vice president, coordination, production and digital services from his prior post as senior vice president, creative services. In his new, expanded role, Mr. Machak will oversee all of HLS's creative output and will be charged with tracking the unit's expenses for proposals and pitches and enhancing revenue for consumables. Additionally, he has been named the healthcare compliance officer for HLS.

Jaclyn Burkart has advanced from account manager to account director. In her new position, she will be responsible for leading account teams, managing client relationships and providing strategic direction for communications initiatives. Ms. Burkart has been employed at HLS for five years.

Leslie Dorting has been promoted from program assistant to project coordinator. In her new post, she will route publication projects from inception to completion. Currently, Ms. Dorting is also working toward obtaining her bachelor's degree at Centenary College.

New Hires

Dr. Jonathan Kamien joins the HLS team as a senior medical director. Dr. Kamien will deliver direction for ongoing and new business initiatives at the company, including directing medical content development, overseeing copy for medical accuracy and providing strategic insights in regard to scientific data and positioning. Prior to joining HLS, he was employed as a scientific director at SynerMed, a technology and services provider for health care organizations, located in Califon.

Laine Capaccio enters HLS as publications director, responsible for managing the planning and execution of her assigned projects from inception to completion. Most recently, she was a pharmaceutical sales representative, specializing in obstetrics and gynecological products for Warner Chilcott, Inc.

Dr. Greg Tardie comes to HLS as a medical director. Dr. Tardie will offer clinical and therapeutic area expertise to his designated brand teams, build relationships with clinical and research executives and academic opinion leaders in the pharmaceutical industry and aid in the development of content for publications and live meetings. Prior to signing on with HLS, Dr. Tardie was employed as a scientific director at Cerebrio, a continuing medical education group in New York City.

Catherine Kitto joins HLS as editorial director. In this role, she will oversee all editorial aspects of the department, including proofreading and fact checking, and ensuring quality and accuracy for all projects. Most recently, Ms. Kitto worked as editorial director at Concentric Pharma Advertising in New York City.

Patrick Donnelly enters HLS as an account manager. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management of his assigned accounts and building long-term client relationships. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Donnelly was employed as a project manager at M2 Communications, a medical education company, located in Jersey City.

Matthew Leighton and Meghan Mulholland both signed on with HLS as project coordinators, charged with tracking and routing program and publication assignments from initiation to conclusion. Both recent college graduates, Mr. Leighton interned as a medical education intern at Ogilvy Healthworld in New York City, and Ms. Mulholland completed internships at both MSNBC and VH1 in the media and public relations departments.

CommonHealth comprises HLS, Altum, Carbon, CommonHealth London, CommonHealth Paris, Conectics, Earthborn, EvoLogue, Ferguson, HLS, MBS/Vox, ProCom, Qi, Solara and Valos. The organization also maintains numerous partnerships both within and outside of the WPP network of companies.

Contact Information: Contact: Beth Paulino or Kerianne Slattery CommonHealth (973) 352-1000