Month: September 2020

Makara expands senior team with addition of new Scientific Services and Creative Directors

PRESS RELEASE |

Salisbury, 25 September 2020 – UK-based international healthcare communications agency,
Makara Health, continues to expand its team with eight new hires as it heads into the last quarter
of 2020:

  • Shula Sarner joins Makara Health from Lucid, where she held the position of Executive Scientific Director. She will be joining the Makara leadership team as Director, Scientific Services, further shaping the company’s scientific offering working with a growing team of expert medical writers. Shula has over 18 years of medical communications experience following a successful career in academic research and biotech. She combines a thorough knowledge of scientific and clinical processes with an understanding of healthcare professional behaviour and strategic insights.  
  • Neil Padgett joins the team as Makara’s new Creative Director. He brings over 20 years of experience in leading multi-award winning creative healthcare campaigns at international levels. He will spearhead Makara’s creative team working alongside another recent hire, Senior Designer Jamie Hickton.
  • Makara has also made new hires across of a range of functions to support it’s ongoing growth:
    • Two new additions to the account-handling team with Laura Carswell as Project Director and Louise Bains as Project Manager
    • Catherine Tighe joins as Senior Medical Writer
    • Lee Barnes joins Makara’s rapidly growing digital team as Junior Digital Developer
    • Gina Gough joins the Client Services team as Project Coordinator 

“2020 has been an exciting year for Makara and we are pleased to expand our team in all areas of the business. The pandemic has undoubtedly brought with it a number of challenges across the industry but the agile working structures and senior team that we already had in place put us in a strong position to tackle these challenges head on and, fortunately, we have seen continued growth throughout this period,” comments Louise Sharp, Founder and Managing Director of Makara Health.

“As an agency focused on delivering excellence in engagement, it has been rewarding to work closely with our clients to evolve approaches to communicating with their customers. Our new hires will ensure we can continue to deliver innovative yet pragmatic solutions for clients as we move into 2021.”

“I’m delighted to be joining Makara during this period of rapid growth, and at such an interesting time for our industry,” comments Shula on her new position. “Having had a chance to see some of the innovations Makara has spearheaded and the support it has provided to its clients, and ultimately to patients, in adapting to the unique challenges we’ve all faced, I’m really excited to get to work together with the talented team in continuing to shape the future of engagement.”