Tag: RunSwitch PR

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Aetna CEO slams U.S. senators for ‘unfounded’ accusations; UofL Foundation paying $12K a month for PR advice

A news summary focused on 10 big employers; updated 8:46 a.m.

Mark Bertolini
Bertolini

HUMANA: Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini says that “marketplace reality” is pushing the company to exit nearly 70% of the counties with public health exchanges next year, and dismissed criticism of the insurer by a group of U.S. senators as “unfounded accusations.” Bertolini was responding to a letter from Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bill Nelson of Florida and Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent. The lawmakers said Aetna’s decision to quit numerous health exchanges “appears to be an effort to pressure the Justice Department into approving” its proposed $37 billion purchase of Humana (Hartford Courant).

taco-bell-dress
Mears, dressing for success.

TACO BELL: Designer and artist Olivia Mears has used Taco Bell wrappers, painted card stock, tissue paper, and felt to make her own spin on Belle’s dress from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” She tells Thrillist: “I had already sewn the yellow ballgown without tacos several years earlier for children’s parties and it was during this time that someone snapped a photo of me while at Taco Bell and it ended up going viral. Fast-forward about three years and I landed a role in a Taco Bell commercial wearing another dress I made from wrappers, so I decided to bring the Belle dress out from storage and continue the legacy.” The dress, unfortunately for fans, isn’t available for sale. But Mears is selling signed photos of it on her AvantGeek Etsy page (Thrillist).

In other news: Facing growing scrutiny from donors and its own university, the University of Louisville Foundation is paying $11,500 a month in retainers for external public relations advice from two Louisville PR shops: RunSwitch Public Relations, led by political strategist Scott Jennings, and Tandem Public Relations, led by Sandra Frazier, according to WFPL; both contracts were extended as of Sept. 1. Frazier, a recently retired Brown-Forman director, was one of Gov. Matt Bevin‘s appointees to a newly reorganized UofL board of trustees (WFPL).

Media and Marketing

PR exec Jennings says ‘bloodthirsty thought police’ chased Cobb off UofL board of trustees

A Louisville public relations executive and former advisor to Republican U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell has attacked the news media for whipping up a “feeding frenzy” over controversial tweets by businessman Douglas Cobb that led to his withdrawing as one of Gov. Matt Bevin’s appointees to the new University of Louisville board of trustees.

In an op-ed piece in today’s Courier-Journal, Scott Jennings of RunSwitch PR writes:

Scott Jennings
Jennings

“I don’t necessarily agree with some of Cobb’s tweets, which were breathlessly reported by the bloodthirsty thought police who turned his opinions on Christianity, global warming and sports into a shooting gallery at their ridiculous carnival. But Cobb has a right to express an opinion, and we should be mortified that our town’s unelected information gatekeepers are personally deciding not only who is fit to serve but what opinions disqualify someone from serving.”

Douglas Cobb
Cobb

Cobb, a venture capitalist and former CEO of Greater Louisville Inc.’s predecessor organization, turned down his university board appointment July 12 , two weeks after news reports said he’d tweeted climate change was a hoax; evolution was for patsies, and “gay Christian” was an oxymoron. Cobb initially defended his views, but then deleted his Twitter account entirely.

Run Switch has been a University of Louisville Foundation vendor, according to the CJ. Jennings co-founded the agency in 2012. In addition to advising McConnell, he was a special assistant and deputy White House political director for President George W. Bush.