Cohn & Wolfe Adds Industry Veteran, MaryEllen O'Donohue, as Senior Strategist and Client Counselor

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Cohn & Wolfe, a leading global communications agency, announced today that industry veteran MaryEllen O'Donohue has joined the firm as Executive Vice President, Strategy and Client Service. In the role, O'Donohue will serve as a senior counselor and strategist for clients in New York, home to Cohn & Wolfe's global headquarters, as well as other offices. Her primary focus will be on healthcare clients, but she also will offer her expertise in the corporate, technology and consumer sectors.

O'Donohue joins from MS&L Group where she worked for 24 years in a number of leadership positions. As director of the agency's North American Healthcare Practice for the past decade, she helped build and lead accounts in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, device and diagnostic industries. She also launched consumer education, direct-to-physician and hospital-based campaigns across a wide range of therapeutic categories including diabetes, HIV, oncology, CNS and pain.

"MaryEllen has been a long-time colleague and partner of mine in the past, and I have witnessed the insights and creativity she brings as a strategist and client counselor," said Stephanie Marchesi, President, Cohn & Wolfe New York. "As an accomplished industry veteran, MaryEllen adds tremendous expertise and depth to our healthcare practice, and to our entire agency."

Said O'Donohue, "Cohn & Wolfe's commitment to insight-driven brand strategy has raised the bar for communications best practices. I am excited to join Cohn & Wolfe and look forward to employing all the tools and resources the agency offers to engage and motivate client stakeholders."

During her career, O'Donohue has crafted and implemented strategic communications programs for some of the most respected brands in the world including: Bayer, Philips, Lilly, Roche, BD, Pfizer, NCR, AT&T and Lexis/Nexis. While at MS&L, O'Donohue founded the industry's first healthcare media relations department, and established systems that proactively provided clients with significant media opportunities for their brands. In addition to healthcare media, she has managed large-scale, high-profile media events such as the Papal Visit to New York.

Prior to leading the MS&L North America Healthcare Practice, O'Donohue spent eight years servicing technology accounts, driving brand uptake in the personal computer, software application and telemedicine arenas. She combined her healthcare and technology background to help expand the market for medical technologies such as minimally-invasive coronary bypass surgical products, MRIs, CT and blood testing equipment.

O'Donohue is a board member of the New York City Police Museum, and for ten years, served on the board for the New York chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.

About Cohn & Wolfe

Cohn & Wolfe is a strategic public relations agency dedicated to creating, building and protecting the world's most prolific brands. With offices around the world, the agency is committed to breaking new ground in the delivery of cross-channel media strategies, creative programming, and practice area excellence.

Cohn & Wolfe is recognized year after year by clients and the industry for excellence in creativity, client service, digital communications, media strategy, senior management and strategic counsel. Cohn & Wolfe also consistently ranks among the top "Best Agencies to Work For" in an annual, industry-wide employee survey. For more information, visit: www.cohnwolfe.com. Cohn & Wolfe is part of WPP (Nasdaq: WPPGY), one of the world's largest communications services group.

SOURCE Cohn & Wolfe