More About: KATHY
BLOOMGARDEN Ph.D & RUDER FINN INC.
Kathy Bloomgarden, Ph.D. > CEO, Ruder Finn, Inc.
Dr. Kathy Bloomgarden is Co-CEO of Ruder Finn Inc., one
of the world's largest independent public relations agencies. Under Dr.
Bloomgarden's leadership, the agency has grown fivefold in the past decade,
and increased profitability 900%, while adding blue chip accounts and winning
high-visibility assignments.
Dr. Bloomgarden started the agency's HealthCare practice in 1980, and it has
since grown to rank among the world's largest global pharmaceutical public
relations teams. Today, the HealthCare group is Ruder Finn's largest practice,
and currently includes many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies,
e.g., Novartis, Glaxo SmithKline, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Roche, and Schering
Plough. The Healthcare practice has world-class health care experts in all
offices in the US, Europe and Asia.
Dr. Bloomgarden, who was instrumental in developing the firm's corporate
affairs practice, was the team leader in one of the PR industry's largest
campaigns, the merger and corporate positioning for Novartis, the company
formed from the merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy. Dr. Bloomgarden headed the
communications preparations during the merger negotiations, including
counseling management, writing press materials, shareholder information,
analysts' briefing materials, and preparing logistics of the announcement
events. Dr. Bloomgarden was awarded the PR industry's All-Star award for these
efforts, as well as the industry's prestigious Silver Anvil prize. The firm
also won the CHF $50 million corporate advertising account, making the
Novartis account the largest in the public relations industry.
Dr. Bloomgarden spearheaded the BP Amoco merger, working with the integration
office and directing efforts aimed at keeping people around the world informed
of merger-related changes, including site selection, management appointments
and restructuring activities.
Based on more than 20 years of experience in communications for multinational
companies, including global communications activities for Novartis, BP,
Pfizer, AB Volvo, Microsoft, Credit Suisse, AXA-Midi, Lyonnaise des Eaux,
Paribas and ABB, Dr. Bloomgarden has developed particular skills in global
communications consulting, including a focus on the following areas:
�
Leadership
and CEO positioning: helping top management develop a strong
communications platform and shape thinking on emerging trends internally
and externally
�
Global
corporate positioning and brand strategy: for multinational corporations,
focused on generating recognition for key messages, core strategies and
competencies, and evolving reputations around the world
�
Product
launches and life cycle management: public relations support for
coordinated, high-impact global launches that can rapidly achieve targets,
and have a major impact on performance
�
Acquisition/merger and global integration programming: for companies going
through a merger process followed by implementation of integration plans,
programs which strive to build a new company culture which takes the best
of both companies and forms a new company with a novel purpose and new way
of doing business
�
Change
management: for companies going through restructuring/reengineering, to
improve global competitiveness, activities which aim to motivate and
engage the workforce, build commitment to new values and stretched
targets, focus attention on improving performance
�
Values and
corporate governance: for companies with operations in countries around
the world, to reinforce a value set that guides business activities and is
an ethical platform for management
Dr. Bloomgarden is a member of The Council on Foreign
Relations, the Foreign Policy Association and the Women's Forum, and is on the
communications committee for Brown University. She graduated with a B.A. from
Brown University, and has an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in
Political Science, as well as a certificate from the East Asian Institute. She
is fluent in French, and has a working knowledge of Chinese, Italian, and
basic German and Russian.
