Managing Passion and Productivity as a Lifer with Rachel Sexton

The Cocktail Hour Podcast

This week we are talking about what it means to be a “lifer” which is someone that has been at one company for the duration of their career. COO of VPR Companies, Rachel Sexton talks about her journey and how she managed to maintain her enthusiasm while working at same company for over 20 years. As a graduate of the University of Missouri’s Journalism program, Rachel Sexton spent the first part of her career developing marketing campaigns for pharmaceutical clients as the Creative Director of VPR Creative Group. After more than a decade designing product launches for blockbuster drugs, Rachel reinvented VPR’s business to focus on what was most important to pharmaceutical clients – the patient. Sexton co-founded VPR Patient Outreach Program (VPR POP) in 2010, using a peer-to-peer model to educate and offer hope to people living with diabetes. VPR POP quickly become the home for additional patient programs in multiple sclerosis, rare diseases, oncology and transplant. Today, a staff of 22 manages 300 patients who deliver more than 4,000 programs each year. Rachel has been recognized as one of Kansas City Business Magazine’s Most Influential Women in 2011, Ingram’s Magazine 40 Under Forty in 2012, a Kansas City Business Magazine Rising Star in 2013, a member of both the Women Who Mean Business and the NextGen Leaders for the Kansas City Business Journal in 2013, and one of PharmaVoice magazine’s top 100 in 2014.