Denise Strauss
Vice President, Marketing
Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Transforming Teams, Portfolios, and Customer Engagement
Transformation is not about one person, one product, or one event—it’s a continuous process. And it’s how Denise Strauss of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals has approached her 25+ year career in the pharmaceutical industry. A critical decision maker, smart risk-taker, and groundbreaker, Denise has been transforming business as usual for physicians, consumers, providers, and colleagues.
The first major transformation Denise led was that of a six-person, basement-based customer response center using typewriters to a 50-person database call center. This growth was driven by the emergence of DTC advertising, an area in which Denise has made a significant mark. When others said it couldn’t be done, she was responsible for negotiating the first healthcare partnership with the NFL, forcing a change to their policies. She also led the Drive4COPD, one of the largest communications campaigns—including four advocacy groups, multiple celebrities, and a partnership with NASCAR—screening over three million people at risk for COPD. In addition, Denise has built and restructured several sales teams in the areas of Pediatrics, Clinical Science, and Managed Markets, helping to transform the customer interface. Self-motivated, ambitious, and passionate about what she does, her enthusiasm for change and her clear vision for the future allow her to inspire, motivate, and rally those around her.
Today, Denise is helping transform Sunovion from a company with three marketed products to nine products in less than two years, if all goes as planned. Having joined the organization in September 2016, she is already having an impact on the evolution of brand teams to therapeutic marketing teams under her leadership. The new structure allows for customer and disease focus while providing opportunities for employee growth and development on new and inline brands. With her strong marketing background, and extensive experience across various therapeutic areas at various product lifecycle stages, Denise is poised for success, and the company is poised to be a launch powerhouse. According to IMS, Sunovion is the second fastest growing among the 20 top pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., and there is no one better to help lead the charge than Denise Strauss—a true transformational leader.
