Accelerating Growth in Healthcare and Life Sciences - Colleen Burns
Expert marketing and business development solutions for healthcare and medical technology, life sciences, and B2B SaaS companies.
Past and current experience and clients include Abbott, IQVIA, Guidant, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Veeva and more.
25 years' experience in marketing, strategy, and sales leadership, Colleen has held senior positions in top global health companies. She excels in building scalable marketing infrastructures, leading strategic initiatives, and mentoring teams.
Colleen has a BA from Notre Dame, MA from Columbia University, and executive certifications from Dartmouth and Harvard Business School. She blends strategic thinking with a data-driven mindset and AI-powered tools to drive growth.

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Strategy
Translate CEO's vision into marketing strategy based on business goals and objectives

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Accountability and Results
Ongoing campaign optimization and KPIs

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Talent Selection and Management
Assist in finding, interviewing and managing qualified talent

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Problem Solving
Continuously innovate ways to reach goals despite roadblocks

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Leadership
Provide leadership, coaching and overseeing day to day activties

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Campaigns
Build a go-to-market strategy that prioritizes impact
GTM Launch Strategy & Messaging
"We would not have launched our messaging, sales materials, and new website so fast without your expert leadership.” - CEO, LifeSciences AI Start Up
Challenge
▪ Company with AI solution for Evidence Synthesis & Clinical Document Generation had expedited vaccine approvals during COVID19 crisis for Top 5 Pharma companies but was slow to gain traction in a post pandemic world
▪ Company had a strong medical and product development team but lacked GTM expertise and commercial team members
Solution
▪ Developed strategic GTM roadmap that aligned with the client’s commercial objectives
▪ Crafted differentiated new positioning and value proposition as the foundation for all assets
▪ Built a briefing deck and hired and trained sales team member
▪ Launched website with new messaging, video and calls to action
▪ Activated LinkedIn and SEO to grow market awareness of client’s AI solution
Impact
▪ 3K monthly web visits and growing
▪ 8K followers on Linked In within 3 months
▪ Sales team scheduled 12 meetings with qualified new prospects within first quarter of launch
Fueling Growth with New Marketing Function
"You have built us a high performing marketing engine to achieve double digit growth. We are the fastest growing division in the company.” - President, Abbott Point of Care
Challenge
▪ $40M point-of-care medical diagnostics company selling to hospitals wanted to double revenue
▪ System was adopted in 100 hospitals but was siloed within single departments
▪ Company had a strong sales and service team but lacked a marketing engine to support the sales team
Solution
▪ Developed strategy focused on awareness building, sales training, and customer education
▪ Updated product positioning, messaging and new brand campaign by audience segment (HCP, RN, Lab, IT)
▪ Launched company’s first web site
▪ Developed a massively successful speaker program for reference selling
▪ Created messaging and materials for partner selling and referrals
Impact
▪ Expanded product from Critical Care units into the OR, ED and NICU in existing customer base
▪ Negotiated multi-department implementations at new hospitals
▪ Doubled revenue within 18 months
▪ Within 3 years, exceeded $100M in annual revenue
Business Turnaround
"Our marketing team continues to hum week after week churning out new content and deliverables that our sales team is excited about. It’s helping us gain momentum in the market.” - CEO, Life Sciences SaaS Provider
Challenge
▪ Founder led SaaS company was not cash positive and Board of Directors appointed new CEO
▪ In wake of several sales and marketing leaders who were inexperienced and underperformed, CEO sought different approach to reduce risk and manage costs
Solution
▪ Crafted differentiated new positioning and value proposition
▪ Built a briefing deck, hired and trained new sales force
▪ Generated attendance at in-person roundtable events and multiple webinars
▪ Re-launched website with new design, navigation, messaging, and CTAs
▪ Wrote eBook, white papers, case studies, and engaged in PR & media relations
▪ Activated LinkedIn and SEO
Impact
▪ 75+ content downloads per quarter
▪ 2.5K+ monthly web visits with session time increasing month over month
▪ 2K new Linked In followers each quarter, with PR coverage in 13 unique pubs with 91M reach
▪ 6-10 new biz opps in sales pipeline per quarter from MQLs
▪ Doubled sales revenue in 1 quarter and increased pipeline 5x
▪ Company
Successful IPO and Merger Integration
"You have our whole organization, across multiple BUs and geographies, going to the market with one consistent voice and message." - COO, IMS Health
Challenge
▪ Trusted 60 year old leading data provider wanted to reposition company to customers, employees ,and investors as a modern data, technology & services solution ▪ Company was siloed across 150+ marketing personnel, spanning 3 business units and 8 geographies, each with its own messaging and President ▪ Company reputation/legacy was only as a data provider
Solution
▪ Launched updated brand identity, new company web site and video materials to reposition company and ensure local teams effectively supported corporate strategy and brand across 5 continents ▪ Curated, elevated, and fully leveraged the company’s thought leadership content, prolonging shelf life and building anchors for broader successful campaigns
▪ Led development and dissemination of global customer, sales, and employee training, messaging and communications throughout 11+ technology acquisitions
Impact
▪ $6B IPO event
▪ 6 th largest IPO of the year
▪ Considered a monumental turnaround in healthcare marketplace
▪ 11+ acquisitions rapidly doubled company size and revenue
What Outcomes Can You Expect when working with Colleen?
• Fast, easy ramp up and implementation
• Marketing strategy for each quarter with proven roadmap
• Strong, consistent messaging that resonates with ideal customer profile (ICP)
• Sales material and thought leadership content that delivers leads
• Standardized sales and marketing processes to track performance and growth
• Strong social presence for brand to fuel growth
• Optimized org chart with team leadership and mentorship for junior staff
• Leveraging AI for teams to work faster, smarter, and more tailored than ever
• Accountability through measurable results/ KPIs monthly
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