SOMERSET, N.J., April 21, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- inVentiv Health (Nasdaq:VTIV) today announced that Kelly Gratz, President of Blue Diesel, and Leah Warner, Account Director at Palio, have been named 2008 "Rising Stars" by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA). Both Blue Diesel and Palio are inVentiv Health companies.
Each year, the HBA selects women in the healthcare industry who exemplify leadership, drive, team-building, innovation, and work/family balance. In addition, successful nominees are noted to promote growth opportunities for others and serve as role models within their respective companies. The 2008 Rising Stars will be honored at the 19th annual HBA Woman of the Year Award luncheon in New York City on May 8, 2008.
"Kelly is an accomplished and respected leader. As President of Blue Diesel, she has led the agency to become one of the top providers of interactive marketing solutions to the healthcare industry," said Paul Mignon, President of inVentiv Selling Solutions. "She spearheaded an innovative approach to closed loop marketing and has driven collaboration with her inVentiv Health colleagues to create measurable, comprehensive solutions for clients."
Ms. Gratz uses her expertise in strategic direction, sales, marketing and operations to benefit Blue Diesel's clients by focusing on delivering superior solutions. Since joining the agency in 2000, she has led initiatives in interactive programs for top pharmaceutical companies, including Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck, Ethicon and Bayer Healthcare. Previously, Ms. Gratz served in an executive management position for Symix Systems, a marketer and developer of e-business software. Prior to Symix, she spent over 10 years with Ernst & Young LLP in their management consulting group, working with Fortune 500 companies to improve processes and increase overall efficiencies throughout their organizations.
At Palio, Ms. Warner is being recognized for her extensive account experience, which has benefitted several of the agency's clients.
"Leah works tirelessly to grow her accounts, and she leads one of the largest brands at Palio. Her client relationships are superb; her work ethic unmatched; her work outstanding," said Mike Myers, President of Palio. "She is a role model and mentor to her colleagues. Leah's quiet dedication and commitment to her brands and team know no bounds. She daily demonstrates keen leadership, patience, and teamwork."
Ms. Warner's expertise includes message development, communications strategies, and strategic planning and development for direct-to-consumer products. She came to Palio from RTC Relationship Marketing, where she served as an account supervisor for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare, Indevus Pharmaceuticals, and Odyssey Pharmaceutical accounts. For the GSK account, Warner led online operations for their smoking-cessation therapies, developed e-mail communications for the transition from Avandia to Avandamet therapy, executed Web site enhancements to highlight a new indication for Coreg, developed direct-to-consumer materials to support Levitra's launch, and evaluated effectiveness of GSK online pilot programs. For Indevus and Odyssey Pharmaceuticals, Warner managed development of their direct-to-consumer overactive bladder consumer communications program.
The Healthcare Businesswomen's Association is celebrating its 30th year as a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of women in healthcare worldwide. With 13 chapters and affiliates throughout the United States and Europe, the HBA is headquartered in New Jersey with offices in Philadelphia and Research Triangle Park. The HBA provides educational opportunities for women and men to develop cutting-edge healthcare industry knowledge; recognizes outstanding women and men in the industry; provides opportunities for networking; creates greater visibility for women in the industry and fosters mentoring relationships. The HBA has over 4000 individual members and nearly 130 corporate partners. It is widely recognized as the catalyst for the professional development and leadership of women in healthcare worldwide. For further information on the HBA or to read more about the honorees, please go to www.hbanet.org and click the link for Awards.
About inVentiv Health
inVentiv Health, Inc. (Nasdaq:VTIV) is the leading provider of commercialization and complementary services to the healthcare industry globally. inVentiv delivers its customized clinical, sales, marketing and communications solutions through its four core business segments: inVentiv Clinical, inVentiv Communications, inVentiv Commercial and inVentiv Patient Outcomes. inVentiv Health's client roster is comprised of more than 325 leading pharmaceutical, biotech, life sciences and healthcare payor companies, including the top 20 global pharmaceutical manufacturers. For more information, visit www.inventivhealth.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks that may cause inVentiv Health's performance to differ materially. Such risks include, without limitation: changes in trends in the pharmaceutical industry or in pharmaceutical outsourcing; our ability to compete successfully with other services in the market; our ability to maintain large client contracts or to enter into new contracts; and, our ability to operate successfully in new lines of business. Readers of this press release are referred to documents filed from time to time by inVentiv Health, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further discussion of these and other factors.