Miami, November 13, 2007 – Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications consultancy, today announced it has appointed Rafael Casas-Don as Chair of its Healthcare Practice for Latin America. Casas-Don has broad experience in the areas of corporate reputation, marketing, media relations and compliance issues as well as crisis management. He will be based in Burson-Marsteller’s Latin American headquarters in Miami and will report to Santiago Hinojosa, CEO of Burson-Marsteller Latin America.
“Burson-Marsteller's global expertise in the Healthcare arena and Rafael’s arrival will strengthen our leadership in the region and highlight the relevance of Latin America in our global strategy,” said Santiago Hinojosa, CEO of Burson-Marsteller Latin America. “Rafael’s proven experience and accomplishments will allow him to enhance our offering and fulfill this vital market’s expanding needs.”
Casas-Don will manage a Latin American team of professionals based out of Burson-Marsteller offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Miami, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. He will focus primarily on providing strategic client counsel on developing and implementing healthcare campaigns and growing the Practice.
“The Healthcare industry is a rapidly evolving arena which requires deep market knowledge and involves a wide range of areas and stakeholders. Burson-Marsteller’s know-how in this field is combined with strong insights in public relations,” said Casas-Don. “I am delighted to take on this leadership opportunity, adding and sharing my value and expertise to a talented network of professionals.”
Casas-Don has more than 15 years of experience as a communications professional and was most recently Regional Communications Director for Baxter International, a leading pharmaceutical company. At Baxter International, he was a member of the regional strategic counsel team, global communications operating team and regional threat management team.
Casas-Don joined Baxter after having served as Market Leader for Burson-Marsteller Mexico and Burson-Marsteller Puerto Rico. He began his career with Burson-Marsteller in its Latin American headquarters in Miami in 1999 as a manager, building expertise across a broad range of business areas.
Casas-Don holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in political science from Brandeis University.
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About Burson-Marsteller
Burson-Marsteller (www.burson-marsteller.com), established in 1953, is a leading global public relations and public affairs firm. It provides clients with strategic thinking and program execution across a full range of public relations, public affairs, advertising, and web-related services. The firm’s seamless worldwide network consists of 57 wholly-owned offices and 46 affiliate offices, together operating in 59 countries across six continents. Burson-Marsteller is a part of Young & Rubicam Brands, a subsidiary of WPP (NASDQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s leading communications services networks.