 Megan Pace |
Moderna Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has brought on Megan Pace as chief corporate affairs officer. Pace will serve on Moderna’s executive committee and report to CEO Stéphane Bancel. She joins Moderna from Agios Pharmaceuticals, where she served as senior VP, strategic operations and PKR program executive. Before that, she was senior VP, corporate communications at Vertex and senior director, public affairs at Genentech. She has also held positions at Eli Lilly and Company, and Porter Novelli. “We will benefit from her extensive public affairs experience and prior leadership roles at biotech companies that have made the successful transition from research and development to their first product launches,” said Bancel.
 Heather Walls |
The Wikimedia Foundation has named Heather Walls as chief creative officer and Kui Kinyanjui as vice president of communications. Walls had served as interim chief communications officer since 2016. In her new post, she will have responsibility for the communications department operations, overseeing how the foundation’s voice, tone and visual assets are incorporated into its public statements. Kinyanjui joins the foundation from Safaricom Limited, Kenya’s largest mobile operator, where she served as head of corporate communications. She has also written for a number of African and international titles and worked in communications for Ogilvy PR Worldwide and IBM’s Growth Markets Unit. Kinyanjui will oversee the foundation’s traditional and digital communications efforts.
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Allison+Partners has appointed seven new partners. Brent Diggins established and oversees the agency’s measurement and analytics group. Courtney Newman founded and leads the agency’s learning and development group. Jeremy Rosenberg leads the agency’s digital team. Jim Selman oversees agency business operations, growth and staff development in the UK and Ireland. Julia Farrell is the agency’s first global chief financial officer. Kevin Nabipour launched and leads the agency’s content strategies group. Managing director, corporate Tom Smith provides strategic counsel for clients on brand building and reputation management. “Our newest partners have contributed greatly to [our] success, and will take on larger responsibilities as we continue our evolution of the agency,” said Scott Allison, chairman and CEO.
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rbb Communications has promoted nine team members to equity partner: chief digital officer Abdul Muhammad II; VPs Jeanine Karp, Maite Velez-Couto, Shawn Warmstein and Josh Merkin; executive VP Laura Guitar; VP of human resources Lisette Loughner; Rashid Saker, director of operations; and senior vice president and director of results measurement Sandra Fine Ericson. “Each of these individuals brings strategic perspective and critical expertise to rbb’s clients and the agency,” said Lisa Ross, president and partner of rbb Communications. The agency has also expanded its services to include a healthcare, global and emerging markets practice group Reputation & Risk Advisors, a crisis and issues management division.
Ballard Strategy Group names former Burson managing director Mike Waterman as MD. Waterman comes to Ballard from ROKK Solutions... The Herald Group brings on Trace Scruggs and Evan Lukaske as VPs... Travelier, which operates platforms for booking intercity transportation services via buses, trains and ferries in 124 countries, appoints Mario Gavira as CMO. 
Raffetto Herman Strategic Communications brings on Jessica Gail, who served as director of communications for Rep. Eric Swalwell, as senior media lead... Prime Therapeutics appoints Katie Payne as chief external affairs officer, a newly created role. She was previously a senior director at APCO... Thunderly promotes Jason Weaver to director of paid media. 
Ruder Finn hires Brent Mullins as SVP, talent and partnerships. Mullins joins the agency from 160over90, where he was VP, entertainment marketing... Allison Worldwide names Katie Huang Shin global president, technology, effective Nov. 14... Vasion, which provides serverless printing and AI-enabled automation, appoints Cindy White as CMO. 
Mod Op brings on John Powers and Alan Kipust as part of its Executive in Residence program, which already includes former Dun & Bradstreet chief data officer Monica Richter... Takeda Pharmaceuticals hires James-Denton Wyllie as head of R&D and external innovation communications... Veeam Software, which specializes in data resilience solutions, appoints Allison Cerra as CMO.
The Dallas Mavericks bring on Gina Miller as chief communications officer, a newly created role. She was previously with Major League Soccer team FC Dallas... Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit organization that advances arts advocacy, names Jamey Lundblad as CMO... Ambac Financial Group, an insurance holding company, names Karen Beyer managing director, head of investor relations.
