Email: paul.dillon@bairdscmc.com

Paul Dillon, associate at Baird’s CMC, has been in the field of communications and public affairs for more than 30 years. Along the way, he has been the group editor of a publishing organisation that specialises in medical and scientific magazines, written for health-related miniseries and documentaries for national television and independent companies, set up the health and science division of Public Relations Practitioners (part of the Marcom Group the largest communications group in Ireland), become the deputy managing director of Public Relations Practitioners (PRP) at a young age, been the managing director of Hill and Knowlton Ireland who acquired PRP, and set up his own consulting firm, Dillon Consultants Limited, which he finally sold a few years ago.

In recent years, Paul has been focusing on overseas development aid. He has worked with organisations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Hewlett Foundation. Paul has also worked with the European Union, with a particular focus on environmental issues. His expertise lies in providing a combination of services: public affairs, research, communications management, and crisis communication.

Over the span of his long career, Paul has been involved in a plethora of projects. He was co-founder of the Irish Medical Organisation Training Centre and created a number of communications training modules for different types of medical personnel, which ran very successfully. He has worked for the Department of Health and Children in Ireland, developing educational campaigns on different health-related topics for young people, as well as for the Health Services Executive, which is responsible for providing health and person social services with public funds for everyone living in Ireland. He has also dealt extensively with the pharmaceutical industry, including the manufacturing, retail, and ethical aspects of business.

Roles:

• Associate at Baird’s CMC
• Independent communications consultant

Areas of expertise:

Communications management; research and analysis; crisis management; public affairs

Services offered:

• Networking with opinion leaders and key influences in Ireland’s social, political, economic, business, NGO and media organisations
• Integrated communications strategy analysis and support for corporate communications planning
• Crisis communications training

Project examples:

• Development of crisis communications manual and training program for immunisation initiatives in India.
• In-depth research and analysis of general practitioner medical services in two regions of Ireland
• Participation on team reviewing leading research institutes in a national university
• Consultancy and crisis management on adverse event in leading baby food manufacturing company
• Client examples: the Irish Medical Organisation, the Irish Pharmacy Union, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation