Lorie Fiber Joins Weber Shandwick as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Southern California

- Will Also Serve in the Firm's Growing Healthcare Practice -

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Oct 07, 2010, 11:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Weber Shandwick, one of the world's leading global public relations agencies, today announced it has named Lorie Fiber executive vice president and general manager of its Southern California operations. Fiber, who joins the firm on October 13th from Edelman will be based in Los Angeles and report to Weber Shandwick's North American President Cathy Calhoun.

With more than 20 years of public relations experience encompassing work in the corporate, consumer, public affairs and health sectors, Fiber will focus on further building the firm's presence in the market across these key practice areas. In addition to her general manager role, Fiber will also assume a key leadership role in the firm's healthcare practice, partnering with global healthcare practice chair Laura Schoen to lead its well-respected work in medical devices, diagnostics and IT health, in addition to expanding Weber Shandwick's burgeoning healthcare presence on the West Coast.

"We have strength across multiple sectors in Southern California, including healthcare, consumer, corporate and digital," said Calhoun. "Lorie has deep expertise in healthcare – a huge growth area for us – but she also brings a broader perspective and a proven track record of growth and leadership. She is going to help us take our operation to the next level and we are delighted to have her on board."

Fiber was most recently an executive vice president at Edelman where she served in numerous positions over her nine-year tenure with the agency. She helped establish the Los Angeles healthcare practice, overseeing the agency's life sciences work in the U.S. and most recently, as a founding partner of the DJE Science specialty unit. Prior to Edelman, Fiber served on the executive committee at FischerHealth (now part of Porter Novelli/Omnicom) where she helped build the medical devices and diagnostics group and was appointed to oversee the healthcare technology practice.

Her diverse background includes establishing the public relations department for the LA Regional Foodbank, the largest food bank in the Second Harvest network, work with consumer health and beauty clients such as Pierre Fabre and TIGI/Toni & Guy, public affairs programs for leading oil and energy companies and political fund-raising for California state initiatives. Fiber's work has been recognized with numerous industry awards including the distinguished MacEachern Award for excellence in healthcare communications.

About Weber Shandwick

Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 73 countries around the world. The firm's success is built on its deep commitment to client service, our people, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates - engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, financial services, corporate and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. In 2010, Weber Shandwick was named Global Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report for the second year in a row; an 'Agency of the Decade' by Advertising Age, Large PR Agency of the Year by Bulldog Reporter, and Top Corporate Responsibility Advisory Firm by CR Magazine. The firm has also won numerous 'best place to work' awards around the world including "Best Multinational Firm to Work For in EMEA" by The Holmes Report and a "Top Place to Work in PR" by PR News. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com