Helene Ellison is Chair of Burson-Marsteller's Global Healthcare Practice. Ellison is a veteran of the healthcare and pharmaceutical communications industry with expertise in corporate positioning, product lifecycle and regulatory communications, media relations, strategic alliance building and crisis management, and she brings nearly 30 years of experience to her new position. Ellison is responsible for building and managing a global practice that has staff in every region of Burson-Marsteller’s global network.
Ellison started her career at Burson-Marsteller in the firm’s Media Relations Practice where she was assigned to high-profile projects including The Tylenol Crisis, the First National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and other assignments that were part of the transformation of the healthcare communications industry. She later returned to Burson-Marsteller as a vice president in healthcare when the agency held responsibility for more than 20 of the most prominently marketed and anticipated drug therapies.
During her career, Ellison has successfully launched more than 30 brands in primary, specialty care and over-the counter markets. Some of her clients have included Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Glaxo-SmithKline, Schering-Plough, Sepracor and Roche. She has experience working in a variety of disease categories including allergy, asthma, cardiology, dermatology, diabetes, infectious disease, insomnia, mental health, nutrition, ophthalmology, obesity, oncology, respiratory disease and women’s health.
Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Ellison founded and was President and CEO of HealthStar Public Relations, an independent healthcare PR agency with clients including Bayer Consumer Care, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Glaxo-SmithKline Consumer Health and Teva. Prior to joining HealthStar Public Relations, Ellison was an Executive Vice President, General Manager and Head of Healthcare at Edelman-owned PR21, now Zeno Group. She has also led healthcare divisions at Edelman, Stratis/KPR and Wang Associates.
Ellison holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from George Washington University.