In what apparently came as a rather large surprise to the U.S. medical device and diagnostics industry, Pamela Bailey, president of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed; Washington), will be leaving that organization to head the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA; Washington).

Bailey's hiring as president and CEO of the CTFA was disclosed earlier this week in a press statement issued by Marc Pritchard, chairman of the CTFA board of directors and president, Global Cosmetics and Retail Hair Color, Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati).

Bailey, Pritchard said, will join CTFA on April 4 and will succeed E. Edward Kavanaugh who is retiring after 22 years as CTFA president and CEO.

AdvaMed staff members have acknowledged that Bailey is leaving the medical device group, but said they would not comment on the development. And the association has released no official statement concerning Bailey's resignation.

Bailey, head of the association since 1999, will be remembered for launching a variety of initiatives while with the organization. Undoubtedly the most important of these was AdvaMed's push for legislation requiring user fees to be paid by manufacturers to the FDA with the intent to help speed 510(k) and premarket approval applications through the regulatory process.

That program has been shadowed by a certain amount of controversy.

Congress has failed to appropriate its share of funding for the program, as mandated by the legislation, and the additional monies haven't resulted in an obvious speed-up of regulatory approval timelines, according to its critics.

Most critical of the user fee program has been the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA; Washington), which has charged that the required fees do a disservice to smaller entrepreneurial firms with limited funds, thus slowing the introduction of the new products which these companies frequently develop.

Besides pushing for the user fee, AdvaMed under Bailey has launched a variety of other initiatives, including a program to research and analyze the overall value of med-tech to the world's economy. The organization under her leadership developed an expanded and more detailed code of ethics intended to guide the relationship and transactions between medical device firms and their customers. Additionally, AdvaMed has developed programs focusing on specific med-tech sectors, such as diagnostics and information technology.

Before taking the lead position at AdvaMed, Bailey's experience included heading up the Healthcare Leadership Council. She also worked in the White House for President Ronald Reagan as special assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Office of Public Affairs.

In announcing the CTFA's selection and hiring of Bailey, Pritchard said that she "has the experience and proven track record in leading a large trade association. She understands the importance of doing business on a global basis and how it impacts industry and consumers, giving us the confidence that CTFA will successfully take on the challenges of the future under her leadership."

In CTFA's statement, Kavanaugh said of his successor: "I am very pleased with the selection of Pamela Bailey. I know that I am leaving CTFA in excellent hands and wish her all possible success as she takes over the helm at CTFA."

Kavanaugh's leadership in turn was praised by Pritchard, who said that during his 33-year career at CTFA 22 of those as president he had provided "dynamic vision, and leaves a legacy of a stronger cosmetics industry."

Pritchard said that a committee of the CTFA executive committee launched its search for someone to succeed Kavanaugh in the fall of 2004. Along with Pritchard, the search committee included past CTFA Chair Andrea Jung, chairman/CEO, Avon Products (New York); Stephen Sadove, vice chairman/chief operating officer, Saks (Birmingham, Alabama); and Daniel Brestle, chief operating officer, The Estee Lauder Companies (New York).

Founded in 1894, CTFA reports a membership of about 300 companies that manufacture or distribute what the group terms "the vast majority of finished personal care products marketed in the United States."