Healthcare Comms Executive Penny Mitchell Joins H+K to Lead U.S. Health Practice
Senior strategist brings vast experience with iconic brands, academic institutions and nonprofits
NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2016— Hill+Knowlton Strategies has tapped proven agency leader and healthcare communications strategist Penny Mitchell to lead the firm’s U.S. health practice. Her extensive experience in healthcare and public relations has included more than 16 years at Fleishman-Hillard, where she was senior partner and co-chair of the healthcare practice, as well as senior roles in healthcare specialty firms TogoRun and dna Communications. She joins the firm Feb. 29 in New York as an executive vice president, reporting to H+K U.S. President and CEO Beth Balsam.
“When Penny and I worked together at Fleishman-Hillard, she was one of the most liked and respected people in the firm, and had an impressive track record of counseling brands and institutions and helping them build visibility,” Balsam said. “With a healthcare space that has only gotten more complex, with more noise and more risk, the mixture of tested capability and creativity that Penny brings to the firm is exactly what our clients depend on us to deliver.”
Mitchell joins the firm most recently from dna Communications, the dynamic healthcare specialty division of Weber Shandwick, where she was a senior vice president and director of new business. Before that she was senior vice president, senior partner and director of business development and client services at TogoRun, Fleishman-Hillard’s health and wellness boutique. Previously, Mitchell worked with Porter Novelli and then Fleishman-Hillard, where she supported several of their largest healthcare and pharmaceutical clients. While at Fleishman-Hillard, she served as co-chair of their global healthcare practice and was involved in both operational decisions and significant new business growth. Along with her many new business and client successes, she was named Client Relationship Manager of the Year for her development and management of the company’s global Novartis portfolio. This was one of many global efforts led by Mitchell to drive awareness and growth for some of the most well known healthcare and consumer brands.
Since her beginnings at a research foundation more than two decades ago, Mitchell has been dedicated to helping healthcare and pharmaceutical clients distill deeply scientific information into digestible messages, handling special situations as well as creating award-winning consumer education platforms. Her therapeutic experience includes endocrinology, neurology, respiratory, cardiology, oncology, virology, immunology, gastroenterology, women’s health and smoking cessation.
“I am delighted to be joining H+K Strategies at such an exciting time and to have the opportunity to work closely with Beth Balsam who is driving great energy and creativity at the firm and deeply committed to expanding healthcare. In addition to building upon the U.S. team’s existing strengths in the pharmaceutical and provider space, I see great cross-practice collaboration opportunities at the firm to create best in class integrated solutions to address the multi-faceted and evolving needs of healthcare clients,” said Penny Mitchell.
Mitchell joins the firm just one month after H+K added Nancy Fitzsimmons, another healthcare communications veteran with expertise in corporate and crisis management, from tWist Marketing.
About Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Inc. is a leading international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational and global clients. The firm is headquartered in New York, with more than 80 offices in 50 countries, as well as an extensive associate network. The agency is part of WPP, the world’s largest communications services group. Learn more at www.hkstrategies.com.
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