UP AND COMERS

Aiming High
14 young Floridians who are already experienced businesspeople.

by Vanessa Pineda

Scott Piergrossi, 26
Miami

Brand Specialists

› Job: Director of creative development for pharmaceutical branding company Brand Institute in Miami. He oversees all creative brand name development and works closely with some of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline. He partnered with co-workers to come up with the drug names Brovana, Tyzeka and Invega, among others.
Brand Specialists

› Education: Bachelor’s in advertising from Barry University in Miami Shores

› Grew up in: Long Beach Island, N.J.

› Experience: Worked as a licensed registered commodities representative after college. “I didn’t see it as a career path, but I was able to transfer a lot of good business sense from it. I learned about macroeconomics and how markets work. I developed a lot of my backbone and salesmanship during that, and it helped me segue into this career.”

› 10 years from now: “I feel I will still be in pharmaceutical branding. The opportunities are boundless just in the area of drug development."

› Advice for young professionals: “Be realistic in the position you are going after or the position you are currently in. In an organization you can tell how much mobility is there.”
Brand Specialists