Our team

Meet our extraordinary brand builders.

Waterhouse is a boutique branding and communications agency that helps life sciences companies power success today and tomorrow.

Our team brings real world, in-the-trenches experience to rewrite the rules of brand reputation.

We’ve been in your shoes. Our experience working with and for industry leading healthcare companies and premier agencies gives us a competitive edge when helping clients build corporate reputation, shape employee experiences and introduce game-changing products to market.

Waterhouse Team

At Waterhouse Brands, we’re always evolving in ways that help us deliver extraordinary results. We believe that diverse perspectives and experiences drive our innovative thinking.

Our team works independently and collaboratively with our Marin County, CA office overlooking the water as our hub of inspiration.

Kim Kraemer
Kim Kraemer
Founder, CEO & Chief Brand Strategist

Kim founded Waterhouse in 2017 to bring her passion for brand strategy, culture-building and corporate communications together into an integrated service offering to help life sciences companies become extraordinary brands. Using her exclusive ALIGN Methodology to spark organizational inquiry, analysis, positioning and planning, Kim helps executives translate their aspirations into high-impact brands and employee experiences. Her work includes the full integrated mix of advertising, digital and communications programs, and becomes the guiding force for defining culture and driving business performance.

Kim brings 30 years of in-house and agency experience working across healthcare, biotech, medical device, personalized medicine and information technology sectors. Prior to launching Waterhouse, she was Managing Director of Real Chemistry (formerly W2O Group), a multi-national agency where she led business design, brand strategy and market positioning efforts for emerging companies. During her career, Kim held executive positions in corporate communications and investor relations at Tercica and McKesson, as well as senior communications roles at Chiron (now Novartis) and Heartport. Over the past decade, Kim has worked with a broad range of companies orchestrating corporate brand and product launch initiatives, including Adamas, Adverum, BioMarin, Cerus Corporation, Exelixis, Gilead, Nurix, Vaxcyte, The Column Group, Nuelle, Tethys Biosciences, RocketFuel, Meteor and Omada Health.

Kim began her agency career in Hill & Knowlton/New England’s biosciences division following time as an associate producer at WPRI-TV, the ABC news affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island. Kim earned her BA in English/Writing Communications from UMass, Dartmouth.

David Mickle
David Mickle
Chief Client Officer

David is a life sciences agency leader who thrives on helping his clients communicate in creative, compelling and effective ways. At Waterhouse, he champions the client experience, ensuring satisfaction and success at every level.

David’s experience includes serving as the account lead on 6 pharmaceutical drug launches and leading the development of numerous disease state education campaigns for physician and patient communities. He and his clients have won numerous industry awards, including Webbys, MM&M, and DTC Nationals. His rare disease launch of Tavneos® with ChemoCentryx (now Amgen) was recognized as a finalist for the best drug launch of 2021.

Prior to Waterhouse, David worked at global agency Havas, where he spent nearly a decade in positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Executive Director, Account Management. In this role, he oversaw numerous flagship accounts and brand engagements with companies, including BioMarin, Genentech, Sanofi and AbbVie. Prior to Havas, David oversaw the West Coast operations of Compass Healthcare Marketers, supporting clients such as Corcept, Raptor Therapeutics (now Amgen) and Upsher-Smith Laboratories. Before that, he spent nine years at Zoomedia, ascending to Chief Operations Officer and leading accounts across non-profit (The Epilepsy Foundation, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, Parkinson’s Disease Foundation) and corporate branding/communications (Gilead, Medtronic, ArthroCare, ARIAD, Cytokinetics, InterMune, Dendreon, amongst others).

With a passion for healthcare and rare disease, David sits on the National PKU Alliance (NPKUA) Board of Directors. In his free time, David can often be found competing on the tennis courts across the San Francisco Bay Area.

Meredith Kiernan
Meredith Kiernan
Managing Director, Brand Experience

As founding head of Client Services at Waterhouse, Meredith joined CEO and Founder Kim Kraemer in 2017 to help build the agency and scale her vision to create high-impact brands and employee experiences for mission-driven healthcare companies. Today, as the Managing Director, Brand Experience, Meredith is Waterhouse’s in-house subject matter expert on corporate and employer brand strategy and activation. Approaching every engagement from a brand-first mindset, her specialties include positioning businesses, products, and initiatives for launch/relaunch; synthesizing customer, competitive and market insights into meaningful brand narratives and experiences; and helping her clients create and implement successful employee engagement marketing and communications programs.

Prior to Waterhouse Brands, Meredith spent several years leading integrated marketing and brand strategy engagements for companies of all stages and sizes at Real Chemistry (formerly W2O Group), one of the largest independent healthcare communications and marketing firms.

Current and past clients include Adverum, BioMarin, Cardinal Health, Cerus Corporation, Exelixis, GBT, Intuitive Surgical, Kyverna, MyoKardia, Nurix, Pardes Biosciences, Principia BioPharma, Proteus Digital Health, Resilience, Twist Bioscience and Vaxcyte. Prior to healthcare marketing, Meredith spent the first tranche of her career in communications and fundraising roles in the non-profit sector, raising nearly $25 million for organizations like Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. and New York’s The Fresh Air Fund.

Meredith holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and is a phi beta kappa graduate of UCLA. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to musicals, riding her Peloton, reading The New York Times and dance parties with her husband and two young children.

Ben Hewett
Ben Hewett
Managing Director, Creative & Digital

Ben is a design and technology leader with a focus on crafting 360-degree brand and digital experiences across consumer and B2B audiences. He joined Waterhouse from digital health boutique agency Mito Pop, where he led the agency’s strategic, creative and technical development for emerging biotech and Medtech brands.

Throughout his 26-year career, Ben has worked for some of the world’s leading agencies and product companies – including Havas, Epsilon, Y Media Labs, Zoomedia, Apple and DocuSign – leading cross-functional teams in the development of branding campaigns, enterprise-grade websites and applications, and direct response programs that have touched the lives of millions.

His portfolio includes breakthrough creative and product launches for global life science brands: Research Kit for Apple Health, Zio for iRhythm, Ocrevus and the HER2 franchise for Genentech, Endeavor for Medtronic, Norditropin for Novo Nordisk, Kuvan for BioMarin. He is a recognized thought leader in digital health with expertise across strategy, UX, design and technical development.

Ben got his start in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving with a helicopter squadron in the first Gulf War but pivoted to fine art after his enlistment, studying printmaking and art history at Sonoma State University, where he discovered his love for design and technology as the springboard for his career. An East Coast native, Ben shunned the cold winters and humid summers for the Bay Area decades ago and is now an avid Giants fan and father of two highly-creative daughters.

Paula Gitis
Paula Gitis
Group Director

At Waterhouse, Paula is an enterprise account lead who spearheads all aspects of program strategy and activation to drive the success of her matrixed client teams. She brings over a decade of in-house and agency healthcare experience leading strategic marketing and communications programs. At Waterhouse, she serves as an extension of our clients, helping our team deliver above and beyond. Paula loves translating complex concepts into compelling narratives and believes decisions should always be data-driven. From standing up corporate marketing strategies to designing integrated campaigns and measuring and improving ROI, Paula’s objective is to ensure Waterhouse clients receive high-caliber service that drives results – for them, their teams, and their businesses.

Paula has both corporate and product experience, as well as both external and internal communications. Before Waterhouse, she led product marketing and go-to-market at health tech Aetion; she wore many hats in her start-up experience, including serving in an internal communications function where she spearheaded employee rallies and all-hands meetings. Prior to Aetion, Paula was at Real Chemistry (formerly W2O Group), where she partnered closely with healthcare clients to tell their stories – externally and internally – be it corporate and product communications, branding and positioning, or digital marketing and analytics.

A scientist by training, Paula earned a BS in Biology from the University of California – San Diego. She has been twice-published for her research in circadian rhythms and bipolar disorder at the UCSD School of Medicine.

When away from the computer, Paula seeks out new hiking trails with her husband and two rescue dogs.

Meet our strategic advisors.

Waterhouse’s strategic advisory board is comprised of seasoned executives handpicked for their life sciences, agency, marketing and communications expertise.

Jim Weiss
Jim Weiss
Strategic Advisor

Jim Weiss, Chairman and Founder of Real Chemistry, is a healthcare, biopharma and medical tech visionary, entrepreneur, business leader, investor, citizen advocate and digital health pioneer. Over the past 20 years, he evolved Real Chemistry from a one-person consultancy to a global health innovation company that uses real-world data, proprietary technologies and analytical insights to solve the healthcare industry’s most significant challenges.

As Chairman, Jim actively serves as a mentor and strategic advisor to Real Chemistry’s people and clients, including opening up new pathways for growth through M&A, partnership and expanded capabilities. In addition, he serves as an Executive Advisor to New Mountain Capital, Real Chemistry’s investment partner. In this role, he focuses on identifying and integrating opportunities at the intersection of technology and life sciences.

Jim built Real Chemistry through a #MakeItHappen work ethic, deep values and a relentless pursuit of innovation. He started his corporate career at biotechnology bellwether Genentech during its formative years where he learned to follow the data to get to the right outcome. Jim is a pioneer in the application of analytics, data and precision targeting to the biopharma and healthcare business. He is an action-oriented driver to advance diversity, inclusion and health equity to make the world a healthier place for all.

Jim and his wife Audra founded the Weiss Center for Social Commerce at his alma mater, Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Jim and Real Chemistry also sponsor the Real Chemistry Emerging Insights Lab, an innovative learning experience focused on data, technology and audience engagement.

He is often recognized as one of the most influential people in the healthcare industry. Recent accolades include being named Agency Entrepreneur of the Year (2021), a Top 50 Health Influencer (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) and Innovator of the Year (2020). He was inducted into the Newhouse School’s 50 Forward as one of its most accomplished graduates of the last 50 years.

Jim is a Board member and investor in Indapta Therapeutics and a business advisor of IMIDomics. He is also a Board member and contributor to several nonprofits, including the LAGRANT Foundation, the Cancer Research Institute, the Commons Project and the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.

Jim resides with his wife and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kym White
Kym White
Strategic Advisor

Kym White is a New York-based Chief Communications Officer with deep expertise in the healthcare industry.

She has spent the last two years within Alphabet, Google’s parent company, serving as the head of communications for both Verily and Isomorphic Labs, two of Alphabet’s healthcare “bets” focused on precision health and the application of AI to drug design.

Kym has held a number of corporate communications leadership roles at companies that span the healthcare sector. Before Alphabet, and through the COVID-19 pandemic, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer of CVS Health, the Fortune #4 diversified health solutions company that includes CVS Pharmacy, CVS Caremark and Aetna. Prior to joining CVS Health, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she had a deep focus on drugs for rare diseases and access issues. Earlier in her career, she led corporate communications for Baxter International, a diversified healthcare products company.

An agency veteran, Kym was the Global Sector Chair for Health at Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm, and held the same role at Ogilvy earlier in her career. She has been named a leading healthcare influencer by PR Week and Medical Marketing & Media many times over the years (2016, 2017 and 2020) and was a Cannes Health Lions Pharma juror in 2017.

She is a board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), a non-profit dedicated to accelerating a cure for multiple myeloma and to advancing cancer research, and Public Policy Holding Company (LON: PPHC), a group of bipartisan, premier advisory firms specializing in government affairs that was recently listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

She is a graduate of Northwestern University, with a B.S. in communications and political science.

Our Waterhouse values guide how we show up and work together to continually exceed client expectations.

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Lead the way
We listen and offer an informed and inspired point of view steeped in clarity and conviction.
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Partner for success
We build trusted relationships and unite in collective effort to deliver impressive results.
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Deliver extraordinary
We aim high, attend to the details and push ourselves until we are wowed and proud of what we have created.
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Every role at Waterhouse Brands becomes a career-defining experience. Join us!

Account Director

As an Account Director, you will simultaneously function as the senior communications subject matter expert, a key client relationship manager and strategic counselor, overseeing the integration of communications and social media deliverables within broader Waterhouse engagements.

Account Manager

As an Account Manager at Waterhouse, you will work hand in hand with our account and project leads to strategize and execute a variety of creative, marketing, digital and communications projects.

Project Manager

As a project manager, you will oversee the successful planning, execution, and delivery of projects for large and small life science clients.

Apply today ›
Every decision we make is on behalf of our clients. Waterhouse is an agency full of creative, innovative and strategic thinkers, reflected in how we partner with clients. We get the day-to-day work done but are always looking ahead for the brands we work with and the impact they can make.”
Karen Kyi
Account Manager