The end of 2022 and start of 2023 has been something of a carousel with pharma executives and marketing agency heads joining, leaving, moving, promoting and so on.

To that end, Constellation, a SaaS platform that assists brands and companies launch and manage hyper-targeted campaigns at scale, recently hired Melissa Gunn as VP of customer success and strategic partnerships.

Gunn, the former head of global oncology strategy at Pfizer and SVP of customer success at ConcertAI, will lead the company’s pharmaceutical division in the new role. 

In a conversation with MM+M, Gunn said what most excited her about the position was being about to use data and technology to transform the pharma industry. Whereas her work at Pfizer and ConcertAI primarily focused on using data to innovate the drug development and clinical trial processes, Gunn said she views Constellation’s work as affecting how medical marketing is carried out.

Constellation is aiming to offer technology to pharma brands and their marketing counterparts that will enable the speed and scale necessary to compete in what is still a highly regulated market, she added. Relying on the lessons learned from both of her previous leadership stints is also influencing Gunn’s approach to the role.

“When I was at Pfizer, I ran both sales and marketing for the hematology portfolio, so I’ve been on the front lines meeting with doctors. I understand what marketers are looking for, what they’re measuring internally and how to get there,” she said. “But I also have a legal background and I used to be the person reviewing every single piece that came through. I’ve learned from all different aspects what it takes to get these campaigns through and also what the advantages are, in my view, related to both speed, scale and personalization in a much different way than there has been historically.”

Constellation CEO Diana Lee said Gunn’s background at a Fortune 100 company like Pfizer and then her move to a startup like ConcertAI made it a no-brainer to bring her onboard. The company has already signed contracts with 11 companies, including their first client Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, which is ironically now part of Pfizer. 

Looking ahead, Lee said she’s looking forward to continuing working with pharma brands and medical marketing agencies to harness the possibilities in the digital realm for creative content.

“This area needs to be disrupted and I know that [Gunn] is the right person to actually do it,” she said. “Overall, we’re eager because now that we have funding and are moving forward into the future, we will be able to do great things together and disrupt marketing for the pharmaceutical industry.”