Industry Veteran Brings Both Agency and Corporate Communications Experience to the team, Further Expanding the Breadth and Depth of Agency’s Offerings
New York, NY – August 4, 2021 – Westwicke, an ICR company, a leading strategic healthcare communications and advisory team serving approximately 150 private and public company clients, announced that Michael O’Brien has joined the team as a Managing Director of the Healthcare Public Relations practice.
Michael has 30 years of experience in healthcare communications, at leading healthcare PR agencies, biopharma companies and health systems, including serving on the executive leadership team at MedImmune (AstraZeneca) and as a senior leader at the University of Maryland Medical System. He has deep public relations and advocacy experience in oncology, rare diseases, genetic diseases, pediatrics, dermatology and autoimmune diseases, including pharmaceutical/biotech (clinical stage and product launch), providers and nonprofit/associations.
“We are thrilled to have such an experienced and talented healthcare PR practitioner join the ICR│Westwicke team as we continue the rapid growth of our healthcare PR practice,” said Terri Clevenger, Partner for ICR│Westwicke and head of the Healthcare Public Relations practice. “Mike is a highly strategic communications advisor who helped grow a leading healthcare agency to scale. In addition, having worked at a major biotech company and run communications for a large hospital system during the pandemic, his unique experience in applying communications skills during adverse times makes him well-equipped to help bring our practice to the next level. Adding Mike to the team at this juncture in our growth only improves upon our strong healthcare PR capabilities and further enhances our integrated offering across all channels including IR, PR, Social/Digital, Crisis, Governance/ESG and Capital Markets Advisory services.”
Prior to joining ICR, Michael served as Vice President of Corporate Communications for the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), where he led external and internal communications, crisis communications and reputation management. He served on the COVID-19 response leadership team that developed strategies to handle rising patient numbers as well as extensive community vaccination initiatives. Prior to UMMS, Michael was Managing Director at JPA Health, where he ran the Washington, DC, headquarters office, overseeing significant growth during his tenure. Michael and his teams won numerous awards, including Ragan’s Health Agency of the Year in 2019 and PRWeek’s Outstanding Agency of the Year more recently, and he was nominated by his team for the PRWeek Purpose Awards’ Most Purposeful Agency Pro. Before JPA, Michael was the Global Head of Corporate Communications for MedImmune, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca, where he was responsible for overall communications strategy, external and internal communications, and community relations.
“I’m incredibly excited to join the ICR│Westwicke team,” O’Brien said. “The agency sits at the crossroads of public relations and investor relations and has seen tremendous growth with high-caliber clients. I look forward to contributing immediately, helping healthcare clients achieve their goals, overcome intense challenges and, ultimately, serve patients in need.”
About Westwicke, an ICR company
Formed through the combination of Westwicke, the largest healthcare investor relations consultancy in the country, and ICR, a leading full-service communications firm providing public relations, special situations & governance and digital branding, Westwicke provides integrated communications services and independent capital markets advice to small and mid-cap companies in the life sciences, healthcare services/HCIT, and med tech/diagnostics sectors.
About ICR
Established in 1998, ICR partners with its clients to execute strategic communications and advisory programs that achieve business goals, build awareness and credibility, and enhance long-term enterprise value. The firm’s highly-differentiated service model, which pairs capital markets veterans with senior communications professionals, brings deep sector knowledge and relationships to more than 750 clients in approximately 20 industries. ICR’s healthcare practice operates under the Westwicke brand (www.westwicke.com). Today, ICR is one of the largest and most experienced independent communications and advisory firms in North America, maintaining offices in New York, Norwalk, Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco and Beijing. Learn more at www.icrinc.com. Follow us on Twitter at @ICRPR.
Contact: Alexis Feinberg, 203-939-2225, Alexis.Feinberg@westwicke.com
