Sander Flaum
Principal
Flaum Navigators
The Industry’s Leading Guide
Nearly everyone in this industry knows who Sander Flaum is. He is the master of the BIG IDEA, and responsible for countless industry firsts, including the first adherence program, the first evangelical selling program, and the first patient guarantee program. Over the course of his 40-year career, he has never been afraid to challenge the conventional wisdom. That is why so many people turn to him for his strategic insight and guidance and have witnessed first-hand how his advice leads to success.
“He helped build this industry, and is uniquely qualified to help guide future strategy and policy with an eye toward restoring our promise to improve the quality of life for patients in need,” says Aaron Graff, CEO of Ferring Holding Inc. “Sander’s leadership skills are unparalleled. He has built successful high performance teams and businesses. He is a teacher, a writer, a mentor, and a friend to many—including many of the most important leaders in our industry.”
According to Sander, the key to being a mentor is to listen. He points to the Winston Churchill quote: “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” But listening isn’t just the key to building a successful mentor-mentee relationship—it is also essential to building great businesses.
“The true successful leaders I have known have always surrounded themselves with A+ people,” Sander explains. “The team must be smarter in areas where the CEO is deficient. Team members are never concerned about speaking out diplomatically on issues that are critical to success of the firm despite some opposing direction from higher-ups.”
And Sander knows about building successful companies. As Marketing Director at Lederle Laboratories he helped to build the world’s No. 1 vaccine division. Later at Euro RSCG Becker (now Havas Life), he drove what was a 40-person agency in 1988 to No. 2 globally by 2004 without any acquisitions, while also introducing a slew of blockbusters, including Ativan, Plavix, Effexor XR, Flomax, Spiriva, and Mobic.
Sander Flaum knows the pharma industry. And the pharma industry knows Sander Flaum.
