In early August, Michael O”™Brien was appointed managing director of ICR Westwicke, a public relations, investor relations and strategic communications firm that works with public and private health care firms. It has offices in Norwalk, New York City and across the country. It is one of the largest focused exclusively in the health care sphere. Previously, O”™Brien served as vice president of corporate communications at the University of Maryland Medical System, and before that held leadership roles at JPA Health and MedImmune, the global biologics arm of AstraZeneca.
This interview was edited for style and clarity.
How are you adjusting to your new role as managing director of health care public relations at ICR Westwicke?
“I”™ve had a very smooth transition since joining the team, with an onboarding process that has been highly informative and immersed me right into the managing director role. I”™ve been able to jump right in and contribute for our clients in the health care industry. Throughout my first few weeks, the team has been welcoming and supportive and I”™ve had the chance to work with many of my colleagues. It”™s an impressive team and I”™m thrilled to join them.”
What drew you to the company?
“I was drawn to ICR Westwicke by the reputation and talent of this team. This entire team is full of superstars who know their specialties inside and out. There are former scientists on staff, longtime Wall Street experts and a public relations team with deep health care experience. I was also drawn to the positioning of the firm, with a focus on small to mid-cap health care companies. This is where so much innovation and new thinking in health care lives and breathes. It”™s exciting to work with these companies and see the future of what”™s next in health care and having a role in telling their stories.”
What is unique about ICR Westwicke and your position as compared to your past experiences? How do your past experiences inform your work in this position?
“ICR Westwicke stands at the crossroads of IR (investor relations) and PR, with incredibly strong teams in both specialties that work closely together on behalf of their clients.
“This is a unique positioning, from my experience and allows us to offer clients true full-service communications, which also includes digital branding, social media and corporate communications. That way, we can ensure a consistent strategy and messaging for all audiences, on the IR and PR side, and across communication channels. This is often a challenge for clients who split these services ”” but at Westwicke, it”™s seamless. We see the results of a coordinated, aligned and strategic full communications program every day with our clients.”
What are the focus areas of the clients you work with or have worked with so far?
“One of the best parts of my job is I have the opportunity to work in many areas of health care. This makes for a decidedly interesting work week. Presently, I”™m focused on pharma/biotech, device and diagnostics and insurance. We also work with many of these clients on a holistic communications program that includes corporate communications, science communications, thought leadership and patient advocacy.”
What will your biggest priorities be for your work on ICR Westwicke”™s communications going forward?
“My biggest priorities are to contribute to our clients”™ success through smart, strategic and creative public relations programs. The talented individuals I have the opportunity to work with makes my job incredibly enjoyable.”
How do you believe health care communications and public relations have changed in the past couple years, especially as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the emergence of techniques like telehealth services? What have you learned about your own work and the industry as a result?
“There”™s no doubt that health care will be forever changed by the events of the past 18 months. There were many lessons to be learned; the question for the health care industry is whether we will act knowing what we know now. Helping patients prevent and treat chronic diseases should be a national priority, as between half and three-quarters of the people who died from Covid-19 had an underlying chronic disease that contributed to their deaths. Access and health equity were already critical issues, but because of Covid-19, we can plainly see how devastating these issues are. We need to solve these challenges.
“Health care will look different for some time due to what we”™ve learned from the pandemic. Telehealth will become a bigger part of our lives, and that”™s a good thing. The more patients who access the health care system, the better outcomes they”™ll achieve.
“The continued intense polarization of news media, particularly as it relates to critical public health matters, is a concern for everyone who works in public relations and we need to work hard to address this so patients get accurate information. But the biggest story of the pandemic is the rapid development and distribution of life-saving vaccines, with incredible safety and efficacy profiles. It shows what”™s possible in medical science and has elevated the belief in pharmaceutical/biotech companies. The question is: What other disease states could benefit from such a coordinated, collaborative effort?”
What do you think is the value of the type of communication services you provide to health care firms?
“The breadth of communications support ICR Westwicke provides is incredibly valuable to our clients. A single strategy and narrative across all audiences, including IR and PR, is powerful and leads to a coordinated, consistent narrative for all key audiences. This, indeed, is how to best maximize your communications program so all functions are working in concert, especially with business moving so fast due to technology. I believe our clients appreciate this coordination and the results we garner.”
