Pfizer’s Measurement Maven

Growing up in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, Brynne Colella found herself equally drawn to creative and analytical pursuits. She considered studying art and architecture before deciding to major in math, with a concentration in actuarial science, at the University of Buffalo. After a brief post-graduation stint as a business intelligence analyst at Publicis Health Media, Colella joined insurance nonprofit Healthfirst as an actuary.

All the while, she kept looking to find a way to marry her aptitudes in art and science. “I was all over the place. I probably changed my major 30 times,” Colella recalls with a laugh. “It took me a little while to understand what I didn’t want out of a career.”

It might have taken longer than she initially anticipated, but Colella cracked the code. Only seven years after graduating from college, Colella occupies a pivotal role on Pfizer’s HCP media team. As senior manager, media measurement and optimization, she’s responsible for evolving the company’s measurement capability in and around oncology.

It’s a position that demands analytic rigor and creativity in equal parts. It’s also an increasingly high-profile one within the well-regarded Pfizer media team.

“The goal is to use data to make our media more sophisticated,” Colella explains. “We don’t just want to be up to speed in that space. We want to be a leader.”

Pfizer global lead of media measurement, optimization and web analytics Kate Duffy, who hired Colella right out of college and twice more since then, describes her as “one of those people who see the path forward between the trees… She applies her analytical skills not only to the subject at hand, but to solve complex challenges with process, strategic guidance and best practices.”

Startup feel, big-company resources

Colella’s first exposure to the inner workings of the healthcare ecosystem came at Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, where she held two internships during her college years. But while she quickly identified health media as a neat fit for her strategic and analytical faculties, she wasn’t entirely sold on it as a long-term career destination. Colella didn’t depart health media following her initial PHM stint because she was disenchanted with the work. Rather, given her educational background, she felt obliged to at least sample life as an actuary.

Her three-and-a-half years at Healthfirst, where she rose to the rank of senior actuarial analyst, proved illuminating. Even as Colella thrived professionally, she realized the job would never scratch her creative and strategic itches. “It helped me understand the type of environment I wanted to work in,” she says.

Colella returned to PHM in early 2022 and, over the course of the next two-plus years, rose to a director-level role. Working with clients like AbbVie, she found herself increasingly interested in strategy. Before long, she came to the conclusion that, to accommodate her range of interests and experience, she would eventually have to shift over to the client side of the business.

The opportunity to do so came shortly after Duffy departed to join Pfizer in April 2024. Colella followed suit in August, and the two set about constructing a media measurement function from scratch.

Colella remembers the assignment as equal parts intimidating and invigorating. “My first month or so, I was like, ‘I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing,’” she says. “When you build something from the ground up, you sometimes don’t know what you’re getting into until you’re actually doing it. That’s what excited me: It felt like a startup within a large and supportive and well-resourced company.”

Duffy wasn’t surprised that Colella took to the task. Prior to departing PHM to work as an actuary, Colella had been charged with developing a full playbook with a step-by-step training guide for the agency’s advanced analytics group. “The work product was something I would have expected from our more senior staff. It ended up being the foundation of the training and upskill materials used to scale the team,” Duffy says.

HCP and DIY

The media measurement function has surged, both in size and sophistication, during Colella’s first full year at Pfizer. She credits company leadership for their encouragement and hands-off approach, which has given the team the breathing room it needs to affirm its value.

Colella is especially proud of the transformation in monthly reporting she has helped effect. Previous reports, whether produced internally or externally, were so unwieldy as to negate their utility. The current streamlined ones, by comparison, focus on identifying pain points and answering thorny questions.

“Reports like that are a big part of building trust with whoever you’re sharing them with,” Colella notes. “Nobody wants something that contains all the data in the world. Once people know that what you’re giving them helps them filter out the noise, they’re going to put more trust in it, and also in you.”

Colella spends her time away from the office on Long Island, playing in a beach volleyball league every Wednesday and pursuing D.I.Y. projects around the house. She reports with obvious pride that she recently completed a walk-in closet with custom cabinetry “and drawers and all sorts of other cool stuff.” Up next: A nursery for her and her husband’s first child, set to arrive in the fall.

Based on what she’s seen around the office, Colella is excited about the impact motherhood will have on her professional life. “So many of our leaders are parents. At Pfizer you can absolutely keep building your career while you’re building your family,” she says. 

While Colella says she has “kind of been dabbling” with data enablement, she anticipates honing her craft in the HCP space for years to come. “I see myself staying here for a long time. We’re just getting started on building something great.”