Charlene Prounis
CEO & Managing Partner
Flashpoint Medica
Paving the Way for the Industry’s Future
Charlene Prounis has not only created two agencies devoted to improving healthcare communications, but also has had a hand at developing the industry’s next generation of talent.
First was Accel Healthcare Care, initiated in 1999, which grew in five years to become a $20M company. In 2004, the company was sold to Omnicom and merged with Corbett, becoming Corbett Accel Healthcare Group, one of the top 10 agencies in the industry.
After the merger, Charlene launched her second agency, Flashpoint Medica, in 2005. The agency grew rapidly, was awarded the coveted “Agency of the Year,” won more than 60 creative awards, and counts many large, blue-chip companies as its clients including Amgen, Genentech, Celgene, Gilead, Novartis, and Pfizer. She also won the “Medical Advertising Person of the Year” award in 2014.
Under Charlene’s leadership, she created an agency structured for collaborative problem solving based on a cultural belief that “Big thinkers think better together.” This approach helps to identify the “flashpoint”—the critical moment when things change with disruptive strategies, breakthrough creative, and novel multichannel programs, including a unique series of tools to help doctors and patients develop meaningful dialogue and become partners in healthcare.
Charlene is also committed to the advancement of women in healthcare industries. In addition to running her agencies, she has been active in the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) for two decades. She was HBA President twice, first in 1999 and again in 2004 when she opened the Metro Chapter. She was awarded the prestigious STAR award, twice from the HBA.
Charlene is credited with creating the HBA’s Leadership Conference, which has become an annual key educational event. She also launched the first study looking at pharmaceutical women’s advancement in the industry and instituted the Rising Stars Awards, which recognizes professional women in the early-to-mid-stage of their careers.
In the last several years, Charlene has served as Board Director for the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame, an organization that focuses on the future of educating today’s young professionals.
