Meet the Interest Group

Rachel was Co-Chair of the Society from March 2014 to February 2017 and has been on the Executive Committee of the Society since 2007. She is Chair of the Digital Awards, an event she launched in 2009. Rachel has over 20 years’ experience in the healthcare and communications industries. She has managed several agencies, was Global Vice President of Medical Communications at Quintiles for 5 years and is currently a business consultant with her own company Route 73 Consulting. Her expertise spans communications, business management, digital media, patient programmes and medical education.

Stephen Page started out as a designer over 30 years ago, and has since helped found and build three agencies (including what is now regarded as the world’s largest healthcare agency) and incorporated brand, communication strategy and innovation for some of the best known brands in the world. To pick but a few, he can tell you how the team helped develop McDonalds’ identity, how they asserted Shell’s values, what it was like to work on Eurostar or Virgin Airways at the beginning, why BUPA is a positive health business, what it takes to launch or globally position a wound care, diabetes, asthma, vaccine or nutrition brand for any one of the major pharmaceutical, biotech or medical device players. Today, and is still energised as P&P enters the top 25 PMLiVE agencies, as a co-Chair for the PM Society and a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers. Stephen isn’t done yet. He is focused on enabling any organisation working in the healthcare space to maximise the power of their communications, the development of what is (probably) the most talented young team in the healthcare space and ensuring that the healthcare gap is closed so that as many people as possible can benefit from living their healthiest possible lives. 

Patrick Kearns, is lead of client engagement for Syneos Health Communications globally as VP, Business Development. They are a global network of creative, medical communication and publication relations agencies built within Syneos Health – a leading fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization dedicated to accelerating the impact of life-changing therapies worldwide.

With over 18 years of experience of supporting pharmaceutical clients meet their strategic and tactical objectives, he is passionate about building true partnership between pharmaceutical companies and their agencies to achieve mutual goals and ambition.

He has been an active member of the PM Society committee for over 6 years ago and through this participation, was exposed to the great work of the Industry Relation Interest Group (IRIG) and has supported the group for the last 4 years. His participation in the IRIG has been a great opportunity to connect with like-minded agency leaders that are aligned to the goal of promoting best practice in how agencies and their clients work together. Together the group has created new award categories, written a best guide and run numerous events to further drive the aims of the group.

Claire Duggan is Head of Engagement at Seven Stones, the Total Health creative agency. Their ethos of ‘Mixed up team’ gets the best creative work for clients and with different skillsets, specialisms, experiences and expertise their shared goal is wanting what we do to matter.

Claire loves being a part of this group to help shape and manage the agency landscape in healthcare with some of the best in the business.

Lucy Williams worked for 10 years on the pharma side in variety of commercial roles, and then moved to Pri-Med in 2008 to oversee Business Development before becoming Managing Director and then CEO of OmniaMed UK. She founded LCW in 2016 which has grown to nearly 30 employees and recently acquired MediConf UK. Lucy has competed at national level in cycling and running and still enjoys keeping fit in her spare time. She joined the IAR Interest Group in 2024.

Having worked in healthcare communications for over 30 years, ultimately building one of the most successful UK healthcare consultancies, Angie Wiles has constantly looked to do things differently and make a Difference to the healthcare communications industry. Angie’s career has seen her take on senior roles for Edelman Healthcare and Burson-Marsteller, build a healthcare team at Cohn and Wolfe and lead the Healthcare Communications Association. In 2004 she co-founded Virgo Health – a global healthcare communications and medical education agency. During her twelve years as joint CEO, Angie was instrumental in its growth to a global stage and award-winning success. She is now the proud Founder and CEO of The Difference Collective, a unique communications and content virtual agency for the health sector. Here, a diverse range of talented, senior-level experts work together to offer clients healthcare sector communications, content and consultancy in a flexible, project-led, virtual model with maximum agility and no traditional agency overheads.

Paul Phillips provides training for agencies in, ‘How to build strong client relationships,’ and ‘Managing pressure/stress and building resilience.’

Prior to becoming a consultant he spent many years working in agencies, with two-thirds of his career in the consumer world and the last third in the world of pharma. Most recently, Paul founded and ran VCCP Health. He has been a member of IARIG for a number of years, to help improve standards in pitching practice and enable agencies and clients to build robust, effective partnerships.

Claire Murray is a Client Services Director at Aurora Healthcare Communications, a healthcare communications and marketing agency committed to improving lives by accelerating access to medical innovation.

She joined the Industry / Agency Relationships Interest Group to share best practice in how agencies and clients can work better together. Claire believes that when working in genuine collaborative partnerships, together we can deliver transformative thinking and flawless execution that leads to life-changing outcomes for patients.

Charlotte Richards is Founding Partner and Technology Practice Lead at LimeLight Health, a start-up committed to enhancing performance and engagement within the healthcare industry. She is leading the development of an innovative AI-driven platform aimed at improving collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and agencies through data-driven decision making.

With over 15 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and agency sectors, Charlotte has gained valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of pharma-agency partnerships. Her experience on both sides has shown her the importance of shared vision and values in building successful, mutually beneficial relationships.

Charlotte is excited to join the Industry / Agency Relationships Interest Group where she looks forward to connecting with likeminded individuals, sharing best practices, and supporting new initiatives that further strengthen industry-agency partnerships.