Communications
Jim Weiss
Chairman & CEO
WCG
Jim Weiss is a senior corporate communications counselor with nearly 25 years of experience in strategic media and investor relations and marketing communications focused in the healthcare, medical device, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Jim was named to PRWeek’s Power List for 2010.
He has been involved in nearly every aspect of corporate communications, including investor relations, annual report writing and design, crisis communications, U.S. and international media relations, government affairs, product marketing communications, collateral/press material development, web site design and content development, marketing and promotion, professional relations, symposia development and coordination, hospital PR department liaison, third-party advocacy group liaison, media and presentation training, direct-to-consumer advertising, product placement, and celebrity endorsements.
Before starting his own firm, Jim was director of corporate communications and investor relations at medical device start-up, Heartport, a pioneer in minimally invasive cardiac surgery. Prior to Heartport, Jim was director of worldwide product communications at Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. (now Aventis) in its Paris headquarters where he led the public relations launches and programs for its leading products worldwide, including LOVENOX®, TAXOTERE®, Azmacort®, Nasacort®, Synercid®, Campto® and RILUTEK®.
Before that, he was at Genentech coordinating communications on behalf of its lead products in the early to mid-1990s: Activase® for heart attack and stroke, human growth hormone, Pulmozyme® for cystic fibrosis, and Herceptin® for breast cancer.
Prior to joining Genentech, Jim developed, supervised and implemented strategic public relations programs for such clients as Novartis, Procter & Gamble, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Pfizer, SmithKline Beecham and DuPont when he worked at some of the world’s leading public relations agencies, including GTFH Public Relations, Hill & Knowlton.
Paulo Simas
Chief Creative Officer
WCG
Paulo Simas founded the creative branding agency ODA in 1998 where he developed marketing programs for luminary brands such as Hitachi, HP, Domaine Chandon and Motorola. In January 2009, ODA was acquired by WCG and now Paulo serves as the Chief Creative Officer, managing the creative and interactive design team.
With over 20 years of industry experience, Paulo’s role is both creative director and designer, working hand-in-hand with the studio on all projects, while also managing the day-to-day business. Paulo has led the design of brand and marketing communications for innovative medical device and diagnostic clients such as Medtronic, Pfizer, Acclarent, Edwards Life Science, ev3(formerly Fox Hollow), CardioDx, Conceptus and Cepheid. His innovative solutions have translated business and communication challenges into compelling creative platforms that start conversations, forge connections and motivate individuals to act.
Information Technology
Lukas Cudrigh
Senior Director for Developer and Platform Evangelism
Microsoft
Lukas Cudrigh is a technologist, digital marketing and media expert and extreme sports enthusiast. As a Senior Director with Microsoft’s Developer & Platform Evangelism division, Lukas is leading the development and execution of innovative marketing and evangelism initiatives that target next-generation software developers and excite them about the Microsoft platform, online services and tools.
Prior to joining Microsoft in 2004, Lukas co-founded and was Managing Director of a Los Angeles based technology startup offering advanced, web-enabled investment management solutions to a global client base. Previously, he spent eight years as a business and technology executive at Dames & Moore Group (now URS Corporation) building the company’s Internet applications practice while delivering highly customized software, media and marketing solutions to clients in the financial services, leisure and media & entertainment industries. He began his career as an engineering and business strategy consultant in Germany and Austria.
Lukas has published numerous articles and whitepapers, is a frequent speaker at conferences and serves as an advisor to several media and technology companies in Silicon Valley and Hollywood.
Marcel Lebrun
Chief Executive Officer
Radian6
As Chief Executive Officer of Radian6, Marcel brings with him years of leadership with various technology start-ups. A serial entrepreneur, he has raised over $100 million in financing, completed an IPO on the Nasdaq and TSX, and headed up an acquisition by a publicly traded company. – From the Radian6 website.
Marketing
Becky Brown
Director of Social Media
Marketing Strategy & Campaigns
Intel Corporation
Becky joined Intel in 1992 and brings over 19 years of experience in sales, marketing, and product development. As the Director of Social Media, Becky is responsible for the global strategy, framework, and tools to enable and measure world class social activations across all parts of the organization. Her team is responsible for setting the social media approach and governance through documentation and training to all Intel employees. Her team owns the strategy and engagement plan for the global social networks including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Becky owns the social media agency model and resourcing for campaigns, tools, paid media integration and metrics / analytics.
Becky began her career in sales as a technical marketing engineer and held a variety of customer facing roles such as Field Sales Engineer, Retail Marketing Manager, Market Development Management. Following sales, she spent over 5 years in product marketing and development for two strategically important and revolutionary products from Intel.
You can find Becky Brown at www.twitter.com/beckyannbrown.
Greg Matthews
Director of Social Media
WCG
Greg Matthews recently joined WCG from Humana where was Director of Social Media & Consumer Innovations.
After spending a career helping to build and transform businesses, Greg’s most recent challenge at Humana was to focus on using social media to create different kinds of interactions with consumers – with the goal of supporting a social revolution in health.
During his tenure at Humana, he created the framework for Humana to organically coordinate all of its social media initiatives – the “Town Square” model. That model generated over 30 social media projects in its first year, and led to Humana being featured as a “Top 20 Company on Twitter.” Greg is a regular public speaker, and his work has been featured in numerous
publications including Charlene Li’s recent bestseller, “Open Leadership.”
Greg has also been responsible for the start-up HR operations for joint venture companies like Green Ribbon Health and Sensei, and in Humana’s first European subsidiary in London. Most recently he launched the health industry’s first twitter analytics tool, myTPSreport.com, and designed and launched CrumpleItUp.com, where he was a regular blog contributor.
Prior to joining Humana, Greg spent his career in technology-oriented consulting firms. At Accenture, Greg worked in the Financial Services and Technology lines of business both in Chicago and in Frankfurt, Germany. Later, Greg was Vice President and Chief People Officer at Chicago-based Braun Consulting (now a division of Fair Isaac). You can reach Greg on Twitter at @chimoose
Bert DuMars
Vice President E-Business and Interactive Marketing
Newell Rubbermaid
Bert DuMars is Vice President E-Business and Interactive Marketing for Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) a global marketer of consumer and commercial products. Mr. DuMars joined Newell Rubbermaid in 2007 and is responsible for directing and coordinating E-Marketing, Ecommerce, Mobile Marketing and Social Media Marketing initiatives for Newell Rubbermaid’s externally-facing online efforts.
Mr. DuMars is also the originator of the Social Media Atlanta conference and the 2010 Association of Telecom Professionals (ATP) Enterprise Innovation Award winner.
Prior to Newell Rubbermaid, Mr. DuMars held executive and management roles at the Department of Treasury – Internal Revenue Service, Trend Micro, Intel, Dell and Southern California Edison.
Mr. DuMars earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Pomona College where he played 4 years of NCAA Division III varsity basketball, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Michigan, Ross School of Business.
Joel Babbit
Co-Founder/CEO
Mother Nature Network
Joel Babbit is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mother Nature Network, the most visited for-profit environmental website in the world.
Prior to launching Mother Nature Network, Babbit spent over 20 years in the advertising and public relations industry, creating two of the largest and most awarded advertising agencies in the Southeast – Babbit and Reiman (acquired by London-based GGT) and 360 (acquired by WPP’s Grey Global Group). He also served as President of WPP’s GCI, which was one of the world’s 10 largest public relations firms and headed the New York office of the legendary advertising agency Chiat-Day.
His clients have included The Home Depot, Coca-Cola, Dell, USA Today, American Express, Holiday Inn, UPS, RJRNabisco, and Citigroup.
With Atlanta’s selection as host city for the 1996 Olympics, Babbit took a leave of absence from the private sector to serve as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for the City, responsible for all corporate and media relations
Active in many civic and charitable organizations including Young President’s Organization, the CDC Foundation, SafeAmerica, The Atlanta History Center, and the Anti-Defamation League, Babbit was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 1997.
A native of Atlanta, he was chosen Georgia Citizen of the Year in 1997 and was awarded the John Drewry Award for Outstanding Achievement from the University of Georgia where he received his ABJ degree from the Henry Grady School of Journalism.