Meet the Learning & Development Interest Group

I’m Ed Thesiger, Founding Partner at Confido Collective. My background has primarily centred around large agency groups (WPP and Publicis), and whilst I have worked across a variety of industry sectors, healthcare has been the common thread throughout my 25+ year marketing career. My most recent role, prior to establishing Confido Collective, was within Publicis Health where I lead the GSK global respiratory business and was also Managing Director for Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness UK. I also had the opportunity to spend 5 years in-house at GSK as both a global brand director and marketing director.

I have been fortunate to have experienced many outstanding training programmes during my career journey and have always been passionate about the professional development of my team members. My particular interest is mentoring, and have recently taken that to another level whereby I also coach healthcare business owners. I am excited to be stepping into the role of co-chair of the L&D interest group together with Simon Grime, and building upon the excellent initiatives undertaken by my predecessors and team members alike.

I’m Simon Grime – an independent consultant and Partner in the Phraktion network. I am customer obsessed and love working with pharma clients & businesses, to advance standards in marketing leadership, innovation and customer (incl. HCPs) engagement strategies and experience

I have spent the last 15 years, leading fast growth in data-driven, marketing service businesses to pharma, life-sciences and wider healthcare segments.. These range from technology businesses to, agencies and media owners/publishers. Prior to that, I led the growth of an agency group from 9 people to over 200 in 14 countries, across multiple verticals, including health

Most recent roles include Wilmington Healthcare, where I led the rapid growth of the data-driven omnichannel engagement business for top 20 pharma clients. Prior to this I scaled digital healthcare data & mar-tech platform, Fendix Media, from £0 to £1m revenue in 3.5 years And prior to that, I was MD of M3 Europe, generating double digit YoY growth, after the sale Of Doctors.net.uk to M3 USA, & specialising in digital HCP customer engagement programmes for global pharma

I am a pharmaceutical executive specializing in strategy (from planning to people). Bringing well over 20 years in Pharma leadership roles across commercial and medical, including leading teams at Novartis and Pfizer. I am now the co-founder of Possible, a strategic consultancy that helps clients maximise commercial value and people impact.

I have always been passionate about delivering exceptional outcomes by leveraging the strengths of teams and individuals, and thus why I was so passionate about being a member of the L&D interest group.

I’m Mehrnaz Campbell. With over thirty years of experience in UK healthcare, I started my career as a nurse before transitioning to various sales and marketing leadership positions with pharmaceutical giants such as GSK, Pfizer, and Takeda. I am now founder and CEO of Cheemia – specialising in omnichannel engagement with HCPs – and creator of Cheemia ReSET, Cheemia ReINSPIRE and Cheemia ReADAPT – online omnichannel engagement training platforms that help pharma companies close the ‘Digital Divide’. In 2024, I published my first book, The Omni Advantage, and was honoured to be awarded ‘Agency Role Model of the Year’ by Women In Pharma.

My purpose is to unleash the human potential to create a healthier world. I aim to achieve this by inspiring pharma commercial and marketing teams to shift from being message bearers to becoming trusted advisors to healthcare professionals.

I’m Jess Ingram, Director at Camino Communications, the omnichannel-native medcomms agency. After 17 years, I still thrive on the endless variety and exciting challenges involved with working in the pharma industry. I have worked extensively on educational programmes for both HCPs and pharma professionals, developing my passion for applying adult learning theory into programme design and delivery. I also enjoy embracing innovative technologies and the omnichannel mindset to elevate the way we connect with our audiences.

Whilst I’ve never worked in an in-house marketing role, I have had the privilege of following the careers of many of my clients across a wide range of roles and companies, seeing first hand the importance of high-quality professional development. I joined the PM Society L&D interest group in 2023 to help provide opportunities for those who work in pharma marketing to connect and tap into high-quality training and expertise. This group has been a great way to meet new people and collaborate across the industry.

I’m Paul Reynolds and I am currently growing Phraktion, a novel digitally integrated network and market place for pharma expertise in pharma.  I also run my own consulting practice, where I use my experience from 25 years in the pharma industry to advice biotechs and biopharmas on commercial strategy.  I previously worked at Novartis, GSK, Allergan and Galapagos, where I was closely involved with 20+ drug launches.  I am passionate about pharmaceutical marketing and joined the Learning and Development Special Interest group to help support pharma marketeers to find relevant learning and develop their careers.  Pharmaceutical marketing is a very specific skill, given the unique nature of this highly regulated sector, and deserves industry specific learning options to develop the best future marketeers.

I have been working within this group for 2.5 years, having been the co-chair with Mike Orriss, and now remain an active member of this vibrant panel of L&D and marketing experts.  The group has already come a long way, first learning where the most significant gaps are for aspiring pharma marketeers, and is now focusing on filling these gaps via our PM Talks series and the development of an international Pharma Marketing MBA program.  This group continues to make a real difference and I am proud to remain a group member.

I’m Stephen Fensome. Having witnessed first-hand the profound impact our industry has on those closest to me, I have dedicated my entire career to the pharmaceuticals sector. I have successfully delivered in roles encompassing commercial and market access. Most recently, as the UK’s Head of Learning and Development, I have had the opportunity to create programs that support personal, professional, and organizational growth. These programs not only influence learning design and delivery but also shape the environment and approach to adult education.

The significant evolution in pharmaceutical organizations’ marketing strategies and the corresponding development of marketers’ skills have sparked my curiosity. I am eager to support those engaged in these complex and exciting roles.

My name is Janice MacLennan, Founder and CEO of a strategy consultancy and a tech startup. My drive is to help Life Sciences not only develop, but also deliver, new breakthroughs to patients and their caregivers throughout the world

Today I do this through NMBLR, a strategy and collaboration platform helping Pharma and Biotech teams overcome Life Sciences’ biggest challenge: effectively and efficiently embedding strategic insights into decision-making processes in an ever-changing and uncertain environment.

My belief is that a company’s greatest strength is its people which is why my focus is on unlocking their potential,  by channelling the expertise from engaged and accountable colleagues to deliver competitive strategies.