Remembering Sander Flaum, a titan among titans

Remembering Sander Flaum, a titan among titans

By Maria Fontanazza • [email protected]

In December we received the sad news of the passing of Sander A. Flaum, a pharma sales and marketing expert, motivational coach, accomplished author, and industry friend. Flaum passed away on December 11, 2022, at the age of 85.

Flaum was founder and principal of Flaum Navigators. He received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University, served in the U.S. military, and then went on to receive an MBA degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He served on the board of directors of OSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and Fisher College of Business (where he was the executive-in-residence), the James Cancer Center at the OSU Medical Center, and Fairleigh Dickinson’s Silberman College of Business. Flaum was recently named a 2023 inductee into the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame. He was also a contributor to Med Ad News and had served on the publication’s editorial advisory board. 

During the course of his career, Flaum spent 18 years at Lederle Laboratories (now Pfizer), rising to the position of marketing director. He moved to the agency side of the business in 1988 and a year later was named CEO of Euro RSCG Becker (now Havas Health). In the following decade, the Becker agency gained many of the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies as clients, including Aventis, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Glaxo SmithKline, Merck, Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (now Sanofi Aventis), Roche, and Wyeth. The agency launched or restaged several billion-dollar+ brands, such as Cefzil, Effexor, Flomax, Flonase, Flovent, Mobic, Plavix, and Zosyn, and many specialty brands in therapeutic categories such as oncology (Xeloda and Revlimid), organ transplant (Rapamune), and emergency medicine (Retavase).

In 2002, Med Ad News named Euro RSCG Becker Agency of the Year, and the following year named Sander Flaum Man of the Year. The same year (2003), Flaum retired from Euro RSCG Becker/Life. At the time, the agency net revenue was $60 million annually and had seven of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies as clients. In 2004, he launched Flaum Navigators, a consultancy that pushed clients to embrace innovation in medical marketing and sales.

Flaum was a lifelong stutterer but did not let that get in the way of his profound success. He was also a strong advocate of those who stutter. 

“I hated the fact that stuttering was one ‘life obstacle’ I could not fix easily. I decided early on, even after going through every kind of speech therapy program known to man, (my mom was not a quitter and my biggest supporter), that this was not going to be a handicap for me. I could not permit my stuttering to be an impediment to my personal aspirations. Most days, I handled it well, but not always.

“In 1978, I attended the Hollins Communications Research Institute Program in Roanoke, Virginia. I was fluent for the first time in my life and God, what a difference it made. I finally felt that I had the fluency targets to hold onto, and if I practiced them religiously – which is of course is almost impossible to do – that I could be fluent most of the time, and in some cases, all the time.

“Today, I’m a lot older, a little wiser; but the issues are still the same! My stuttering will always be the crucible experience, which will always keep me sharp and prepared to do whatever I do next, beyond expectations. I have found that stutterers are often perfectionists and never quit until it’s an A-plus.”   –  Sander A. Flaum, March 2021

Flaum created the Rose Flaum Stuttering Foundation – named after his mother, his strongest advocate – to give scholarships to students without the funds to pay for speech therapy. He authored the book, “The Best Thing That Could Ever Happen to You: How a Career Reversal Can Reinvigorate Your Life,” about the journey of career setbacks and coming out on the other side with success. In 2021, he published “The Stutter Steps: Proven Pathways to Speaking Confidently and Living Courageously.” 

His obituary states, “Although Sander never fully overcame his stutter, he never let it hold him back. Sander will be missed terribly. He was a remarkable husband, parent, grandparent, brother, friend, Buckeye and human being.”

Words from the industry

“Sander Flaum had his own unique personality and style, and he made an impact on many people in our industry. I remember Sander as the leader who would make it a priority to spend time with promising young talent, making them feel important and providing encouragement. Early in my career, Sander did exactly that for me, and I will always remember it.” – Renée Wills, co-founder, client lead, Brick City Greenhouse

“‘If it’s not great, we don’t show it.’ That was Sander Flaum’s mantra at his agency. Sander embodied the pursuit of greatness in all aspects of his life and career. And this pursuit has carried him to success after success. Even more importantly, Sander’s passion for greatness has changed the way the industry markets its brands and inspired legions of individuals to live and work according to similarly high standards. Both his achievements – and the people he’s mentored and inspired – stand as the amazing, living legacy of a person who made excellence truly a way of life.”  – Steven Michaelson, founder and chairman, Calcium

“At Havas Health & You, human purpose is at the core of what we do every day, and I can think of very few people who embody this ideal better than Sander. He worked tirelessly to make his agency successful and did this by always putting himself in his clients’ shoes – “the client comes first” was his mission. As a thought leader, marketing expert, mentor, and pharmaceutical guru, Sander prioritized connecting with and empowering the people he worked with and for, an incredibly admirable trait. Ensuring that you’re paving the way for the next generation is key to both the industry’s success and your own legacy – and Sander did that with grace and humanity.”  – Donna Murphy, CEO of Havas Health & You and Havas Creative Group

“A true loss for our industry. Our deepest sympathies to his family and friends. We hope to honor his impact and legacy at our 2023 Awards Dinner.”  – The Medical Advertising Hall of Fame

“Sander was truly a titan among titans, always innovating. We’ll miss you dearly, my friend.”  – Dan Becker, brand director, Med Ad News and owner, Outcomes, LLC

Excerpt from letter sent to Sander Flaum from Barbara Turkel, King Pharmaceuticals (July 2, 2009)	Excerpt from letter sent to Sander Flaum from Anil K. Makhija, Dean and John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business, The Ohio State University	Excerpt from letter sent to Sander Flaum from Robert L. Dilenschneider, The Dilenschneider Group (December 14, 2022)
Click letters to enlarge.

Special thanks to Lisa Pollione of Flaum Navigators for providing biographical information, along with images and letters sent to and in memory of Sander Flaum.

 

Maria Fontanazza is director of content, PharmaLive and Med Ad News.