Neuro, >> Tran's signing on to me is a much more compelling indicator of belief in the company's prospects.<<
But Varney signed on to much acclaim right before the clinical hold hit, so a hiring is not necessarily predictive of a company's future prospects.
Pierre Tran's flip comments about the poor selection of food in Indianapolis as a factor in his employment decision also suggests that he may not be the driven, focused type that you'd ideally want as CMO. I may be biased though, after Cortex's experience with Servier.