LEADING OUR FIRM–
AND THE INDUSTRY
We guide healthcare clients to breakthrough strategy and impossible-to-ignore creative, leaving behind the expected and realizing the exceptional.
Anshal has over 25 years of experience in healthcare strategy marketing.
She has a passion for business strategy and innovation and is constantly thinking about the
now and the next for our firm as well as the healthcare industry at large. With a skill
for spotting and supporting early-stage companies and turning their visions into reality,
Anshal leads our team throughout the process—from strategizing at preclinical phases to
innovating at launch and beyond.
Anshal has held positions in sales and marketing at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer,
respectively. After earning her MBA from Columbia Business School, she co-founded Polaris
Business Partners (now a part of Iqvia), where she focused on strategic process optimization
while growing the client base as Director of New Business Development.
In 2005, she joined her mother, Ahnal, at Purohit Navigation. Here, she began in client
service and strategy for several years before assuming the role of President. In her years
at Purohit Navigation, she has supported clients throughout the industry—from biotech to
medical devices—and across therapeutic areas ranging from dermatology to oncology.
Additionally, Anshal has focused much of the firm’s time and staffing resources on
understanding and serving the nuances that accompany rare and specialty diseases, and demonstrating her passion for the behavioral interventions that accompany strategic planning for these
products. Now, in her role as CEO, Anshal leads the firm in its everyday operations as well
as its vision to continue to elevate standards of service and strategy across clients and
deliverables.
In 2020, Anshal founded Purohit Ventures, a behavior-based investment firm that strives to
be a strategic partner to early-stage portfolio companies with cash, hybrid, and
time-as-currency investment models. She also serves on the board of AWASH, working with her
mom to continually craft the foundation’s vision for the support of women’s health,
including fistula repair.
Anshal’s thought leadership has been featured in these leading industry publications:
PharmaVoice:
Agency CEO Roundtable
PharmaVoice:
Marketing High-Science Brands
PharmaVoice:
Trend: Multistakeholder Commercial Models
PharmaVoice:
Agencies Pay It Forward
PharmaVoice:
Disruptive Advertising
MM&M:
Agency 100 2019: Purohit Navigation
MM&M:
Marketers share 3 steps they’ve taken to integrate behavioral science into marketing
MM&M:
Roundtable: How healthcare agencies can retain and attract A-list talent
Beyond the resumé
Always pushing boundaries, Anshal enjoys
exploring the world with her family—though she admits that her son Rain usually chooses their
destinations.
We guide healthcare clients to breakthrough strategy and impossible-to-ignore creative, leaving behind the expected and realizing the exceptional.
In the early 1980s, Ahnal left a comfortable position in methodology
development at a market research firm to venture out on her own. Within two years she’d
co-founded a new kind of healthcare communications firm: the agency that would become
Purohit Navigation. The firm started with no clients and limited services. But with
determination, hard work, and a large dose of creativity—helped by Ahnal’s experience as a
professor of statistics and behavioral sciences at the University of Illinois College of
Pharmacy—they realized their vision of integrating strategy, research, and advertising.
Ahnal went into healthcare communications with a PhD in psychometrics and a goal to offer
life-sciences companies research-based insights, deep strategic and scientific thinking, and
breakthrough creative that would truly change behavior. For over 35 years, she has not only
achieved her goal, but she has gone beyond the expectations of the extensive range of
clients that the company serves.
In addition, Ahnal is passionate about improving the lives of others. She co-founded the
nonprofit organization African Women’s Alliance in Support of Health (AWASH) to help the
estimated 30,000 women among Sierra Leone’s total population of 6.5 million who suffer or
die from vesicovaginal fistula, a condition that occurs as a result of obstructed labor. She
has also spearheaded Purohit Navigation’s work to support the local Chicago community
through internships and other initiatives that are having a positive and long-term impact.
Now, in her role as board chair, Ahnal continues to impact lives as she shares her decades
of wisdom not only as an advisor to our firm, but throughout the entire industry.
Ahnal has been repeatedly recognized for her leadership and influence:
- 2019 PharmaVoice Red Jacket Award
- 2019 PM360 Trailblazer Vanguard Award
- Asian Women in Business Entrepreneurial Leadership Award
- PharmaVoice 100 Most Influential People
Ahnal has shared some of her industry insights in these prominent publications:
PharmaVoice:
Client-Agency Relationships 101
PharmaVoice:
Disruptive Advertising
MedAdNews:
Purohit Navigation Inc.
MM&M:
Purohit Navigation: 2018
PharmaLive:
Purohit Navigation: 2018
Beyond the resumé
An artist at heart, Ahnal has flourished in
a career that blends so many of her interests—healthcare, psychology, statistics, and
creativity.
We guide healthcare clients to breakthrough strategy and impossible-to-ignore creative, leaving behind the expected and realizing the exceptional.
For over 30 years, Kim has navigated beyond the traditional role of a CFO
by demonstrating her expertise across innumerable areas of our business.
A CPA with a BA in Marketing from Loras College and a Master of Accounting and Financial
Management degree from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University, Kim has
been exceptionally qualified from the start. She built our accounting group from the ground
up, giving her an encyclopedic understanding of our process and an ability to lend her
insights throughout the product development lifecycle. Kim leads our group with passion and
vision, and has been instrumental in finding innovative ways to partner with clients of all
sizes, fulfilling Purohit Navigation’s mission to stay nimble and stretch the
dollar.
Kim has a passion for seeing everyone win. Prior to her tenure with Purohit Navigation, she
worked as a consultant specializing in setting up small businesses for success. Today, she
ensures that the finances for each of our firm’s accounts are up to date and manages
contracts, partnering with clients on billing strategy to help them get the best value.
Beyond the resumé
Kim also goes the distance outside the
office, having run the Chicago marathon several times.
We are a team of innovators who stand out from the norm by continuously pushing creative boundaries, delivering strategic solutions, and challenging ourselves as we elevate brands.
Jen’s tenure with Purohit Navigation spans nearly a decade. She began as an Account Supervisor with the firm and quickly rose to play a key executive role. Her vision and strategic background were integral in the structuring and build-out of our strategy practice, and she has played a key role in the training of our Analytics, Content Strategy, and Strategic Planning Teams. In her role, Jen leverages her research background, clinical lab expertise, and experience in healthcare strategy and communications to bring the guidance and executional know-how that helps our clients succeed.
Jen earned a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Virginia and an MRes in Structural Proteomics from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. After starting her career as an editor in the UK, she moved to New York and began her transition into healthcare strategy with TogoRun before joining Purohit Navigation.
Jen has shared some of her industry insights in this prominent publication:
PharmaVoice:
Navigating Beyond for Commercial Success
Beyond the resumé
Outside the firm, Jen spends her time wrangling her two dogs, Winston and Zeus, and discovering new ways to marry her Anglophilia with her love of learning—like a full-day blacksmithing class in the English Lake District.
We are forward-thinking, solution-driven leaders who encourage engagement and inspire all to realize their potential, within an efficient and unified workplace.
Since 2015, Sam has guided our art team as they collaborate with our writers, researchers, and strategists to create next-level projects for our internal needs and some of our most established clients. An RX Award winner in 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2022, her unstoppable drive to create breakthrough work ensures that every project not only achieves its key objectives, but pushes creative boundaries with attention-grabbing solutions.
Hailing from multicultural Australasia, Sam is a product of Murdoch University and the West Australian School of Art & Design. Her appreciation for cultural diversity broadens her inspiration and enhances her creative thinking. She has nearly 20 years of art direction experience covering B2B and B2C advertising on both the client and agency sides, with an emphasis on luxury goods and multinational campaign roll outs, including designing and implementing significant elements of the Rolex visual identity during her time there as Senior Art Director.
Sam has shared some of her industry insights in these prominent publications:
PharmaVoice:
The Foundations of Brand Building
MM&M:
6 campaigns that appeal to a diverse range of customers
Beyond the resumé
Sam's passion for the arts extends to such disparate fields as classical piano and modernist architecture. She can often be found anywhere from live gigs to architectural tours throughout Chicago.
We are forward-thinking, solution-driven leaders who encourage engagement and inspire all to realize their potential, within an efficient and unified workplace.
Jamie is a results-focused agency operations and client services leader with extensive experience driving brand growth, optimizing operations, and guiding teams. Her unwavering commitment to delivering impactful creative solutions that can make a difference in people's lives not only defines her approach to every project, but also serves as the cornerstone for her effective management of operations and teams. Jamie's expertise spans a diverse array of categories and industries, ranging from beauty and health care to tourism and tech. Notably, Jamie devoted nearly a decade to spearheading behavior change campaigns for the California Department of Public Health. Recently, she led the integrated rollout of California's Covid Vaccine campaign, followed by a subsequent initiative focused on raising awareness of Covid Treatments. Targeting Priority Populations disproportionately affected by Covid, the campaigns were delivered in 27 languages across multiple channels, effectively ensuring that essential healthcare information reached those most in need.
Beyond the resumé
Outside of work, she has a love for unusual travel experiences. Travel highlights include bungee jumping over Victoria Falls in Zambia, scuba diving with whale sharks off the coast of Belize, and eating tarantulas in Cambodia.
We are forward-thinking, solution-driven leaders who encourage engagement and inspire all to realize their potential, within an efficient and unified workplace.
As Creative Director, Johnnie leverages data to drive the creative process and meet our clients' ever-evolving brand needs. His diverse portfolio and range of industry expertise contribute to the growth and development of Purohit Navigation's creative team. With over a decade of design experience, Johnnie provides the skill set needed to meet our client's objectives with quality solutions. His approach to merging strategic thinking with intentional storytelling has helped elevate the way we approach the brand experience. Having explored a variety of industries, from beauty and healthcare to education and publishing, Johnnie constantly seeks to broaden his perspective on creative thinking. His extensive resume, from working in-house to the agency side, has evolved his knowledge of brand identity. He has developed impactful campaigns that combine his Fine Arts education with technical problem solving. With a multifaceted tool belt, Johnnie has established brand awareness among a wide range of thought leaders.
Beyond the resumé
Johnnie's passion for design extends to his interest in thrifting. He spends his weekends exploring flea markets, estate sales, and consignment shops to find his next big treasure.
We are forward-thinking, solution-driven leaders who encourage engagement and inspire all to realize their potential, within an efficient and unified workplace.
As Human Resources Director, Jason serves as a business partner to Purohit’s Navigators and is responsible for the strategy and implementation of human resources initiatives that support staff, organizational goals, and the employment value proposition of the firm.
Jason earned an MS in Human Resources from Loyola University Chicago, where he was a founding officer of the university’s chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Prior to joining Purohit Navigation, Jason led the human resources practices for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and for the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). He also has held senior management positions in human resources for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Cantilever Technologies, and Comark. He has been responsible for establishing and expanding both domestic and international human resources programs.
Beyond the resumé
Jason enjoys giving back to the community, and has volunteered as a script reader at the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired.