Dennis da Costa Joins MWW Group as Vice President and Director of Global Public Health Policy

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MWW Group (http://www.mww.com/), one of the nation's top ten public relations firms, announced today that Dennis da Costa has joined the agency as a vice president in the East Rutherford, NJ office. Da Costa will lead the agency's Global Health Policy Practice and become a key member of the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Philanthropy practices. As part of his client portfolio, da Costa will head up MWW Group's work with the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (GLOBAL NETWORK).

"Dennis da Costa brings to MWW Group a level of public health specialization entirely uncommon in our industry and a level of expertise absolutely critical if we are to truly help our clients tackle many of the greatest global health challenges facing the world today," said Michael W. Kempner, president and CEO of MWW Group. "I am personally passionate about MWW Group's work in the global public health arena. It's important work that truly makes a difference and I'm pleased that Dennis has joined us to take the helm on many of our most important projects."

Prior to joining MWW Group, da Costa served as Director of Communications and Advocacy at the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI), where he worked on the development of a global advocacy strategy aimed at linking the control, prevention and elimination of the "diseases of poverty" (neglected tropical diseases) to attainment of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, which are aimed at advancing human development among the "poorest of the poor" in the developing world. This strategy is playing a role in fostering creative public-private partnerships and mobilizing in-country resources.

Earlier in his career, da Costa served as vice president, consumer marketing at Fleishman-Hillard, Golin-Harris and Ketchum. At these firms, he directed cause branding and publicity programs for clients including Purina, Hershey, Red Lobster, Eveready, Sony and Unilever.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Fordham University and is a recipient of the McGinley Award for his work as Program Director and on- air host at 50,000-watt WFUV-FM.

About MWW Group

In 2006, MWW Group was named PR Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and Mid-size PR Firm of the Year by PR News in recognition of the firm's growth, strategic account leadership and industry-leading employee retention. Additionally, for the past four years, MWW Group has been honored with the #1 ranking in the Holmes Report agency client satisfaction survey. MWW Group achieved top rankings in the categories of account leadership, strength of account team, creativity, strategy and planning, and program execution.

MWW Group is one of the nation's top ten public relations agencies and is known for its results-driven approach to public relations. The agency is nationally recognized for its work in consumer marketing, corporate communications, investor relations, public affairs and government relations, technology and healthcare. Headquartered in East Rutherford, N.J., MWW Group has 11 full-service offices representing national and multinational companies, including Sun Microsystems; Samsung; McDonald's; Nikon; Bally Total Fitness; Sara Lee; Volkswagen of America, Inc. FreshDirect; Scottish Enterprise; Verizon; Oxford Health Plans; Los Angeles Community College District; The Palm Restaurants and many Fortune 1000 clients in the consumer, professional services and industrial sectors. MWW Group is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies . For more information on MWW Group, visit http://www.mww.com/.