Merck hired Bridgette P. Heller to head the company’s consumer health division. Heller joins Merck from Johnson & Johnson, where she was president of the baby global business unit since 2007. She was previously global president, baby, kids and wound care. At Merck, she will be EVP and president, consumer healthcare, reporting to chairman, president and CEO Dick Clark. She succeeds Stanley F. Barshay, who had postponed his planned retirement to serve in a transition role following Merck’s acquisition of Schering-Plough.
 
Roska Healthcare Advertising president Jay Bolling has bought out founder Jon Roska and taken on the role of chief executive at the independent agency. Bolling said the shop’s heritage in direct marketing will prove particularly valuable as the healthcare industry shifts from mass-market strategies to more cost-effective and targeted promotional efforts. Based in Montgomeryville, PA, Roska Healthcare Advertising clients include Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Actelion, GlaxoSmithKline and Cumberland Pharmaceuticals.
 
LyonHeart Communications named Kristin Furman VP, account supervisor/business development. Furman worked for the shop before spending a year at Regan Campbell Ward McCann’s San Diego office.