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Constella Group Appoints Former Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary As Vice President for Global Public Health Preparedness

Posted on: Tuesday, 26 September 2006, 12:00 CDT

Constella Group, a leading global provider of professional health

services, announced today that it has named Stewart Simonson, former

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'

(HHS) assistant secretary for public health emergency preparedness, as

its vice president for global public health preparedness.

In this capacity, Simonson will lead Constella's

internal preparedness programs and launch initiatives to broaden the

company's extensive preparedness expertise and

its support of both public and private sector constituents. He will also

be actively involved in public health preparedness outreach through

speaking engagements, white papers, and various other media.

As assistant secretary, Simonson reported directly to HHS Secretary Mike

Leavitt, and previously served under former Secretary Tommy G. Thompson

who chairs Constella's Advisory Board. He was

the secretary's principal advisor on

bioterrorism and other public health emergency matters and coordinated

public health preparedness activities of the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National

Institutes of Health. Simonson also represented HHS in negotiations with

foreign governments and international agencies on public health

preparedness matters. He was responsible for implementing the $5.6

billion Project BioShield Act of 2004 and was instrumental in national

preparedness planning for Pandemic Avian Influenza.

"We are extremely proud to welcome Stewart

Simonson into Constella," said Chris LeGrand,

president of Constella's Health Sciences

business unit and head of the company's public

sector portfolio. "His extensive domestic and

international expertise in public health preparedness and his passion

for public health make him ideal for this important role."

"I look forward to applying my experience and

knowledge to create effective solutions for preparedness planning, and

to identify ways to better protect our communities, the United States,

and the world from natural and manmade health threats,"

said Simonson. "I am very pleased to accept

the global public health preparedness role for a company genuinely

dedicated to making the world a healthier place."

Simonson recently received The Surgeon General's

Medallion and the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research's

Public Health Achievement Award recognizing his contributions to public

health. He holds a juris doctor and a bachelor of arts in political

science from the University of Wisconsin.

"Aside from his many prestigious

accomplishments, what impresses us most about Stewart is his genuineness

and his sincere passion for helping others,"

said Constella Chairman and CEO Donald A. Holzworth. "He

shares our vision of enhancing human health around the world, every day,

and we look forward to his leadership to help us fulfill that vision."

About Constella Group

Constella Group is a leading provider of professional health services

worldwide, dedicated to enhancing human health around the world, every

day. Through its work in health sciences, international development, and

pharmaceutical product development, Constella creates and provides

health intelligence to help industry and government clients identify and

solve critical problems affecting human health. The company's

1,200 employees serve clients from company headquarters in Durham, N.C.,

from U.S. offices in Washington, D.C; Rockville and Frederick, Md.;

Glastonbury, Conn.; Atlanta; and Morgantown, W.Va., from U.K.-based

offices in Bath, Oxford and Cambridge; from offices in Cologne, Germany;

Paris, France; and New Delhi, India; and from client sites and other

offices across the world. For more information, visit www.constellagroup.com.

Source: Business Wire

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