Outcome Health has hired a top executive from advertising giant Publicis as its new CEO, replacing founder Rishi Shah.
Matt McNally was named the new boss today. He will remain based in New York but split time between there and Chicago, the company said in an email announcing his appointment. He will start late this month or July. McNally, 44, was group president and chief media officer of Publicis Health, where he oversaw four agencies: Digitas Health, Publicis Health Media, Insync and Verilogue.
Hiring McNally is another big step for Outcome as it tries to recover from a scandal that resulted in a high-profile legal fight with investors who put nearly $500 million into the company a year ago, as well as the defection of several key customers. A few weeks ago, the digital health care advertising company named a new board of directors, including a top former executive at drugmaker Novartis.
Nandini Ramani, a technology exec hired last summer from Twitter who has been running day-to-day operations in recent months, will stay with the company as chief operating officer.
McNally's first order of business will be to rebuild trust with advertisers, primarily drug companies that use Outcome's TVs and tablets in doctors offices to reach potential customers. Outcome's business was badly damaged after revelations a year ago by the Wall Street Journal that the Chicago-based company had overbilled some advertisers and mischaracterized the effectiveness of some ad programs in how much they increased prescriptions.
The resulting chaos stalled the once high-flying company and ultimately cost co-founders Shah and Shradha Agarwal their jobs as CEO and president, respectively, and $159 million of a planned $225 million payout. They remain the largest shareholders in the company and are chairman and vice chairman of the board. Outcome lost nearly half its employees through buyouts or layoffs.
"Outcome Health names new CEO" originally appeared in Crain's Chicago Business.
