Weber Shandwick Hires Healthcare PR Leader Susan Smirnoff

NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Weber Shandwick, one of the world's leading global public relations firms, announced today that Susan Smirnoff, an industry leader in healthcare communications, has joined the firm as executive vice president/senior counselor after a long tenure at Ruder Finn.

Smirnoff will contribute to Weber Shandwick's healthcare practice with her extensive professional experience, specifically in oncology and neuroscience. Known for her vision and leadership, Smirnoff will also help to develop and guide expert teams within the practice.

"Susan's passion for science and her commitment to delivering programs that impact patient outcomes is a perfect match to our culture. Weber Shandwick believes that greater understanding of the impact of scientific breakthroughs is valuable to multiple stakeholders, including patients. We welcome Susan's talents to translate the benefits of science and medical innovation," said Laura Schoen, president, Weber Shandwick's Global Healthcare practice.

Smirnoff's experience includes managing disease awareness and life-cycle brand programs, promoting business alliances, supporting clinical trial recruitment and addressing the communications challenges of Rx to OTC switches. At Ruder Finn, she co-led the agency's U.S. healthcare practice and later also served as a senior counselor across healthcare and corporate communications teams.  Dedicated to supporting patients living with cancer, Smirnoff also serves as the president, board of trustees of CancerCare, Inc.

Weber Shandwick's Global Healthcare practice was named Healthcare Agency of the Year in 2013 by The Holmes Report. It was the first to become fully certified in both the U.S. and Europe in promotional regulatory compliance by the Center for Communication Compliance (CCC), reflecting the firm's commitment to training and education, and understanding the highly complex regulated environment of health communication. It received recognition for this year's launch of Element Scientific Communications™, an industry-leading team of expert scientists and communicators with deep experience in research and communications, dedicated to inciting change through science. The practice is also at the forefront of thought leadership in the industry, recently releasing Digital Health: Building Social Confidence in Pharma, a study revealing that reluctance, not regulation, is the biggest barrier to social media use in the pharmaceutical industry.

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations firm with offices in 81 countries around the world. The firm has won numerous awards for innovative approaches and creative campaigns including being named both The Holmes Report's 2012 Global Agency of the Year and the "Most Creative PR Firm in the World," based on the agency's first-place finish in its "Creative Index," as well as PR News' 2012 Digital PR Firm of the Year. Major practice areas include consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and crisis management. The firm has deep, award-winning expertise in social media and digital marketing that helps drive engagement. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com.

SOURCE Weber Shandwick