About Us

For over 15 years, Thought Leader Select has set the industry standard for understanding thought leadership in medicine. Based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, we are known for the rigor of our research, our deep understanding of the needs of both industry and medical professionals, and our commitment to continuous innovation.

Thought Leader Select has supported more than 50 companies as they develop effective treatments to promote better patient outcomes and quality of life in dozens of therapeutic areas and disease states. Our customized work strengthens medical marketing and medical affairs outreach and collaborations.

Through our most recent innovations, we are at the forefront of helping companies achieve greater diversity in their KOL and speaker rosters, leverage digital opinion leaders, and create customized MSL engagements to promote credibility and trust.

  • With more than 40 years of industry expertise gleaned from multiple roles in strategy, sales, and marketing at Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, Paul lends a comprehensive understanding to our company’s consulting work with life sciences companies. Under Paul’s leadership, Thought Leader Select has defined thought leadership in life sciences on multiple fronts, from the study of key opinion leaders and centers of excellence to innovative methodologies to identify digital opinion leaders and more diverse advisors for biopharmaceutical firms. For more than 17 years, Paul has set the standard for our company’s commitment to quality, transparency, and ethics.

    In addition to his work at Thought Leader Select, Paul serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. At the Gillings School, Paul teaches and collaborates with faculty on research in the Public Health Leadership Program.

  • A veteran researcher and leader at the company, Zoe Meade spearheads project work centered on medical thought leadership in all of its permutations, from key opinion leaders and digital opinion leaders to speakers bureaus and centers of excellence. In addition, Zoe leads efforts in data visualization to help our clients quickly understand the dynamics of thought leadership in their respective therapeutic areas and make decisions with greater agility.

  • Dana Hanson brings deep expertise in multiple research methods and project management to her work at Thought Leader Select. She leads research related to thought leadership, including the identification and profiling of key opinion leaders, digital opinion leaders, and centers of excellence. In addition, her leadership is critical to understanding the relationships KOLs have with life sciences companies in our work to help medical affairs divisions optimize their business operations and customer experiences.

  • Laura brings multiple perspectives to her role in optimizing the company’s operations, as a veteran researcher, project manager, care provider, and entrepreneur. In addition to her functional role on the TLS research team, Laura also leads client work related to patient engagement through her company, TLS strategic partner Empowered Patient Engagement.

  • Laura Muttini is a Registered Pharmacist and has 35+ years of experience in the healthcare arena, including coaching and interacting with patients and healthcare professionals, working in the pharmaceutical industry, and consulting with healthcare education companies. During her career, her focus has been to help patients increase their knowledge base, become engaged in their own healthcare, and feel empowered to make informed and shared decisions with their providers.

    Along with colleague Laura Nufire, Laura Muttini leads our patient engagement practice through their consultancy, Empowered Patient Engagement.

  • Brian leads the company’s efforts on multiple fronts, including marketing, strategic planning, and management of major client relationships. In addition, Brian is the lead consultant in a pair of practice areas, digital opinion leadership of medical stakeholders and diversity & inclusion in the selection of thought leaders for collaboration with life sciences companies. He is passionate about helping clients see trends in the marketplace and advising them on relevant points of convergence where they can grow.

  • With more than 25 years of industry experience in North America and Europe, Neil’s work spans sales, marketing, public relations, business development and licensing for dozens of products across multiple therapeutic areas. This array of experience translates into keen problem-solving for client companies ranging from startups to global giants.