PMEA welcome
Stephanie Hall as new chair

PMEA, returning for the 23rd year on 22 November to celebrate excellence within pharmaceutical marketing, welcome Stephanie Hall as the new judges’ chair.

Although she will be taking on the role for the first time this year, Hall is no stranger to the PMEA judging process, having been a judge and chairing judge for seven years.

Reflecting on her previous involvement in the Awards, Hall said: “I have loved the professional challenge, responsibility and opportunity to showcase the great work across our industry.”

Hall, who is the founder and chief executive officer of global healthcare consultancy Uptake, also has experience as both a PMEA entrant and winner.

In 2020, Uptake and EY supported AstraZeneca with its entry that won the award for Excellence in Capability Development. A year earlier, the agency supported Takeda UK and Ireland with its entry that scooped the award for Excellence in Pharma Brand Management.

Hall said: “I am truly dedicated to PMEA, following years of work as an entrant, finalist, winner, judge and general advocate with my clients, friends and colleagues across the industry.

“I am committed to taking PMEA into the next phase for the coming years to reflect the great work our industry does to deliver improved patient outcomes, innovation, great collaborations, education and so much more.”

Hall brings extensive experience to the role, having worked in marketing, finance, sales roles and consultancy projects at multinational pharma/biotech companies and alliance partnerships for over 25 years.

Her work has not gone unnoticed, with Hall having been recognised as one of the UK’s top ten women entrepreneurs in EY’s 2019 Winning Women Entrepreneurs’ programme. She also won the International Women’s Award at the 2020/21 National Businesswomen’s Awards, and is currently a finalist for the same award in 2023, following sustained global impact.

As the new judges’ chair, Hall picks up the baton from Paul Stuart-Kregor, co-founder of Cello Health Consulting, who held the role for four years and was instrumental in developing the Awards.

This year – just as those that have preceded it – the judging criteria and categories included in PMEA were carefully scrutinised and updated in order to meaningfully demonstrate and reflect the ever-changing medical and pharmaceutical landscapes.

The PMEA group of judges has seen some changes this year as they welcomed six new judges. Joining as judges are Charlie Buckwell, who leads the medical communications discipline across IPG Health; Lisa McCurdy, who is partner at Osprey Health Consulting; Simon Middleton, who is a partner at L.E.K. Consulting in London and head of L.E.K.’s European life sciences practice, and Mark Taylor, who is a partner within EY’s health, science and wellness team, where he leads the customer and growth practice.

Rachel Harris, who is brand and strategy director at Page & Page and Partners, Marc Tiltman, who is managing director at Only the Brave, and Benjamin Glatz, who is principle, life sciences at AT Kearney, have also joined as judges.

“We have created a series of categories to stimulate entries from a wide range of programmes and organisations united in a desire to improve or transform patient outcomes using great thinking, technology, innovation and collaboration,” Hall explained.

PMEA offers European, international and UK pharma/biotech companies, healthcare charities and their supporting partners/agencies the unique opportunity to showcase the quality and effectiveness of their work.

“There is so much work at a global/international level that should be recognised,” Hall said. “The entry criteria are streamlined (but structured and rigorous) and the awards are focused on the content and networking. Procurement teams, recruiters, senior leaders, please pay attention to PMEA – what happens here is worth noting.”

Being recognised through the PMEA programme is regarded as a significant achievement for those behind the initiatives and success can be a key driver for business growth as well as for building morale with both internal and external stakeholders.

Crucially, entrants benefit from a comprehensive system put in place to ensure confidentiality at every stage of the judging process. They are also given full control over the information disclosed when the results are published.

The entry deadline for PMEA is 25 August 2023, with an extended deadline of 1 September available at an additional charge.

Following the rigorous judging process, the PMEA programme will culminate in a dinner and awards presentation held at the Sheraton Park Lane, London on Wednesday 22 November.

To book your tickets, go to www.pmlive.com/awards/pmea/table_booking