Pfizer Policy Expert Joins APCO

Washington, D.C. (March 15, 2007) – APCO Worldwide’s health care team added policy expert Courtney Piron as vice president, Robert Schooling, managing director, Washington, D.C., announced today. Piron, former director in the Economic & Policy Research group, a division of corporate affairs at Pfizer Inc, has more than 15 years experience in health policy, government relations and crisis communication.

“Courtney is a tremendous addition to our worldwide health care team,” Schooling said. “Her experience is representative of our strength in this sector – combining health care knowledge with economics, politics and communication, and she has a proven track record of using her broad background to ensure smart choices in tough situations.”

At Pfizer, Piron’s primary areas of responsibility included health system reform, policy communication, the industry’s economic contribution to states and U.S. regulatory policy issues.

Prior to joining Pfizer in 2001, Piron was director, health policy for Wyeth. During her five-year tenure she was responsible for federal health policy related to the pharmaceutical industry. She previously worked as a communication consultant with Burson-Marsteller in its lobbying and crisis management departments in both Washington, D.C., and New York. She also worked on Capitol Hill and in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of the Commissioner.

“APCO combines policy knowledge with an understanding of the business and the communications environment,” said Piron. “As a result, we can help our clients drive sound policy that makes sense for their business and their reputation. I’m excited to be a part of such a great team.”

Piron joins a team of APCO health care experts around the world including: Wayne Pines, former head of public affairs for the Food and Drug Administration; Tamsin Richmond-Watson, with 11 years of experience advising health care organizations on addressing political and regulatory challenges in the U.K.; Ernest Chan, who held policy positions in the Hong Kong SAR government including assistant secretary for environment and food, and assistant secretary for health, welfare and food; Bill Pierce, former chief spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Kirsten Thistle, with 15 years of experience advising clients on communicating scientific and medical information to the media and managing activist campaigns around health care issues; Mark Dober, with more than 14 years of communication and public affairs experience working on health care issues, such as European Pharma Marketing Congress and Drug Industry Association Congress; and Emily Johnson, former director of strategic outreach initiatives for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Piron holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dickinson College and a Masters of Public Administration in Public Policy from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a frequent speaker on public policy issues facing the pharmaceutical industry and serves as a source to the media on issues related to the field.

About APCO Worldwide

Founded in 1984, APCO Worldwide is an independently owned global communication consultancy with offices in major cities throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. APCO was named 2007 PR Agency of the Year by PRNews; 2006 Agency of the Year by PRWeek; 2007, 2006 and 2005 European Consultancy of the Year by Public Affairs News; and 2004 Public Affairs Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report. Clients include corporations, governments, industry associations and nonprofit organizations. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., APCO includes among its clients seven of the top 10 companies on Fortune’s Global 500. Core services include corporate, investor and internal communication; crisis management; issue management; government relations; litigation communication; media relations; coalition building; opinion research; market entry; corporate responsibility; and online communication. APCO is a majority women-owned business. For more information, please visit www.apcoworldwide.com.

Contact:
Elizabeth Wolf
+1.202.778.1470
ewolf@apcoworldwide.com