MERGE appoints former Meta leader Cait Vlastakis Smith as EVP of Creative Strategy, bringing her expertise in user experience and data-driven storytelling to its healthcare and technology brands.
September 30, 2025
MERGE, a leading marketing and technology agency, announces two strategic hires to strengthen and further accelerate its mission of integrated growth and innovation. Heidi West steps into the role of Chief Revenue Officer, and John Bracey joins MERGE as Chief Data and Performance Officer. These accomplished executives bring decades of experience and expertise, fortifying the agency’s leadership team as it continues to expand at the intersection of health and wellness.
Heidi West, MERGE’s new Chief Revenue Officer, offers over 30 years of exceptional sales leadership and a history of delivering impactful technology solutions across healthcare, including at CommonSpirit Health, Englewood Health, Mount Sinai Health System, Stanford Health Care, and other diverse industries. Most recently leading the healthcare team at Zoom, West has held sales and leadership roles at Cisco, Nutanix, and Booz Allen.
"I am incredibly excited to join MERGE at such a pivotal time," said West. "I look forward to leveraging my experience in healthcare and technology to help MERGE bridge the gap between health and consumer verticals. By focusing on improving patient engagement and experience, we can deliver trusted, relatable solutions guided by AI and data-driven strategies for our clients and their audiences."
West’s background in healthcare and executive engagement, combined with her talent for building high-performing sales teams aligned with strategic goals, makes her an invaluable catalyst for strategic growth. Commenting on this significant leadership addition, Stephanie Trunzo, MERGE CEO, remarked, “While leading Oracle Health, I met Heidi in her role driving the health business at Zoom. Her extensive experience in the health industry, coupled with her strategic sales expertise and sincere approach will catalyze the outcome-oriented momentum of our client service and business development teams.” Beyond her professional achievements, West is a passionate advocate for women in technology and STE(A)M initiatives.
John Bracey, a visionary in data science and analytics, brings an impressive track record of transforming global brands into organizations driven by insight. Formerly EVP at Publicis Groupe, Bracey spearheaded data-driven transformation initiatives across a number of Publicis Groupe’s largest consumer and healthcare brands.
“My expertise lies where data science and strategy meet. I’m passionate about helping brands maximize the value of their data and media investments, whether by engineering insight or architecting performance,” said Bracey. “Across industries, I’ve seen that an audience-first approach consistently drives better insights and stronger outcomes. At MERGE, I look forward to continuing this work, turning complex data into automated, actionable solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes.”
“John’s ability to harness data to transform businesses will substantively enhance how we deliver personalized, meaningful solutions that unite people and brands. These data-smart offerings will be the electricity that runs through creative and tech implementations to identify, optimize, and predictively model impact. We’re incredibly excited about the amplified innovation he will bring to MERGE,” said Trunzo.
The West and Bracey appointments further accelerate MERGE's strategic leadership expansion, building on the other significant executive announcements this year beginning with Stephanie Trunzo's announcement as CEO, and including Erica Denner (Chief People Officer), Kyle Smith (CTO), Paul Buranosky (CMO), and Chris Esposito (CFO).
