New PR hires at Pfizer and Cephalon

Pfizer has hired former General Electric (GE) executive Peter O'Toole to serve as vice president, communications in its Washington, DC office, while Cephalon has brought Pfizer's Natalie de Vane on board in the position of senior director, corporate communications and public affairs.

O'Toole was previously director, executive communications at GE, a position that he held for about 16 months. Before being promoted to that post, he served as GE's director, public relations, public affairs for nearly five years. He has also worked on the agency side, spending more than four years at Burson-Marstellar, and was a speechwriter to the Secretary of Energy and Special Projects Officer at the US Department of Energy.

O'Toole's post at Pfizer is a newly created position that gives him responsibility for policy, external affairs, and communications.

De Vane recently joined Cephalon from Pfizer, where she was vice president, corporate affairs at Wyeth Nutrition, which became part of Pfizer through the 2009 merger with Wyeth. She was promoted to that post about two years ago, after working in corporate communications for Wyeth for 12 years.

At Cephalon, de Vane's responsibilities include external and internal communications, media relations and corporate brand management. She reports to Fritz Bittenbender, the company's VP of public affairs.