Risa Bernstein

Passion-fueled Problem Solver

Over the course of a career that saw her co-found two successful agencies and lead three others, Risa Bernstein returned time and again to a phrase that clearly articulated her professional philosophy: Big Thinkers Think Better Together.

Charlene Prounis, with whom Bernstein co-founded Accel Healthcare Communications and Flashpoint Medica, remembers the adage being on display in Bernstein’s office in some or other form. Tom Harrison, the agency lifer who backed both Bernstein’s companies under the Omnicom banner, remembers her using it as a rallying cry.

Bernstein herself says she started living the philosophy before she heard it articulated in that manner (and proceeded to put it on a poster in her office). Indeed, she imbued that spirit of partnership and good cheer across five agencies (and her own consultancy) in a career that spanned more than three decades.

She entered the advertising world at a small consumer agency. A new job quickly beckoned – working at a larger agency on Seiko watches – but Bernstein rejected it after enduring a two-hour training session about recommended behavior around Japanese men. She subsequently turned down another post in which she would have worked on Philip Morris business.

Bernstein landed in healthcare advertising in 1982, accepting an assistant account executive gig at the fabled Gross Townsend Frank Hoffman (GTFH). From the outset, she knew it was a good fit. The four partners immediately recognized Bernstein’s strategic skills and she quickly ascended the company hierarchy. During the last five of her 16 years with the agency, Bernstein served as managing director and sat on its management committee.

Before long, she found herself in Harrison’s office, listening to his pitch to take over as president of another Omnicom firm. Bernstein, alas, had other plans: She and Prounis had already started bouncing around the idea of founding an agency of their own. Bernstein’s response: Bring me a business plan in a week.

Just two months later, Accel Healthcare Communications opened its doors. Bernstein and Prounis led Accel for six years, sticking around through its merger with Corbett Healthcare Group. Shortly thereafter, they found themselves in Harrison’s office again, this time pitching the pure-play ad agency that would become Flashpoint Medica.

Right after the new shop opened its doors, however, Bernstein was sidelined by a family tragedy: her oldest son sustained a severe head injury in a bus accident, prompting her to leave the nascent company for more than a year. He ultimately recovered and Bernstein took a broader lesson away from the experience: That you can say ‘no’ sometimes.

Since departing Flashpoint about a decade ago, Bernstein has stayed involved in the agency world via short tours at FCB Health (a fill-in stint as executive director) and Calcium (as EVP, director of strategy). She remains as passionate about the business now as she’s ever been; she has no plans to retire anytime soon and is weighing board involvement and other leadership opportunities.