CHARLENE PROUNIS
CEO and managing partner, Flashpoint Medica
What was your biggest break?
Landing the Herceptin account without a pitch. We got the business based on the project work we did, which the client loved. Life without a pitch—a dream fulfilled!
What is the best and worst part of your job?
Best part—the energy of new business pitches, expanding into new categories, doing research, strategizing and coming up with positioning. Worst part: reconciliations.
Where did you go to college? Did it help prepare you for your career?
I started out as nurse, getting my BSN from Adelphi, and running an ICU in my early 20’s. Then I got an MBA from St. John’s University at night while working in advertising. Every step prepared me for the challenges I face today.
What books are you currently reading?
I’m reading Lean In (about women’s advancement), Power of Habit (our job, after all is about breaking habits) and The Happiness Project (who doesn’t want to be happier?). I also love novels.
What was your greatest professional challenge?
Transforming the agency to be fully digitally integrated. Now we are a digital agency.
From the October 01, 2013 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
