Mastering the 'Now Normal'

The career path that Jonathan Heit took to the public relations industry is unlike that of most people. With an undergraduate degree in sciences and a pre-medical background at Cornell University, Mr Heit, now 48, says he was "on the path to becoming a doctor".

"It was really challenging science-based work and as I really dug into it, I started to realise the element of medicine that I enjoyed: the interaction with patients," the co-founder and global president of Allison+Partners tells Asia Focus. It was at this point when he also realised that he wasn't as strong on the science side of things as he wanted to be.

But "I was always a very good writer, and I was always interested in writing and communications", he notes.

Fresh out of med school, and after spending time on what he wanted to do, "I thought maybe merging two things together, communication and healthcare, could play to some of what I've learned and be where my real passion is". That decision led him to healthcare public relations and marketing communication.

But working with science-based clients could be a little bit limiting, he discovered upon entering the industry. "Science is so defined, so precise that it's a very regulated industry," he observes.

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