The Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences will award its highest honor, the Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal of Honor to Drake pharmacy alumnus, Brian Reisetter, PH’85. Reisetter will deliver the Weaver Medal Lecture on Tuesday, November 5, at 2:30 p.m. in Sussman Theater, Lower Olmsted. The lecture will also be livestreamed and recorded for later viewing.
The Weaver Medal of Honor recognizes an individual’s dedication to making a substantial impact on the profession of pharmacy and the advancement of human health. It is presented annually to a recipient who has fulfilled one of the following criteria: the individual’s efforts have advanced the education, research, or outreach mission of the college for the benefit of human health; the individual has made a substantial impact on the profession of pharmacy; or the individual has provided to the college significant financial support that has funded strategic change and progress. The award is made possible by a generous gift from Lawrence Weaver, PH’49, and his wife, Delores.
“We are proud to have Dr. Reisetter as one of our alumni, and his contributions to the profession of pharmacy and Drake University make him an excellent choice for the Weaver Medal of Honor” said Erik Maki, Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. “Dr. Reisetter’s diverse career exemplifies the mission of Drake University to prepare students meaningful personal lives and professional accomplishments.”
Brian Reisetter, an Iowa native with roots in Marshalltown, earned his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Drake in 1985. He spent three years as a student pharmacist at Broadlawns Hospital, and then, while pursuing a Master of Business Administration from Drake, he continued at Broadlawns as a licensed pharmacist. Upon graduating with his MBA in 1987, Brian has gone on to make significant contributions in both the business and practice realms of the pharmacy profession.
Brian made his entry into the pharmacy sales industry as a representative at Eli Lilly. Five years later, in 1993, he found himself drawn back to pharmacy practice. He left Des Moines for Chicago and became the Director of Pharmacy at Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, a small, 100-bed behavioral health sciences facility. At the same time, he was serving as part-time relief pharmacist at several independent and chain pharmacies. And then, on top of that, he decided to pursue yet another degree.
Brian’s graduate course work in Pharmacy Administration began at the University of Illinois at Chicago before he transferred to the University of Mississippi to specialize in Pharmaceutical Marketing. During his time at “’Ole Miss”, Brian began doing consultant project work within the pharmaceutical industry alongside his faculty advisor, Mick Kolassa, and several other students in the graduate program. By the time Brian graduated with a PhD in Pharmacy Administration with a Marketing specialty in 2002, this work had shaped what would become a lucrative career. Brian and his colleagues eventually formalized their consulting work, and Medical Marketing Economics (MME), LLC, was born.
Based out of Oxford, Mississippi, MME, LLC was a pricing and marketing consulting firm that grew into a multi-national marketing consultancy with three offices in two countries with a staff of over forty people. Brian served as Vice President and Partner for fifteen years until selling his ownership to his partners in 2016, at the age of fifty-five.
Now, Brian uses the breadth of knowledge he has accumulated throughout his multitude of experiences in both pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical business marketing to run his own company, Reisetter Health Services, LLC. His business primarily provides support and expert testimony to law firms and drug companies involved in marketing-related litigation.
“I am thankful to have my Pharmacy degree every single day,” Brian says. “Although my career has taken all of these different paths not directly involving pharmacy practice or dispensing, having this background has been a huge advantage. I couldn’t imagine this career without it.”
Outside of his own business, Brian busies himself with being an active advocate for the pharmacy profession. He teaches a marketing elective at Ole Miss in the School of Pharmacy, influencing the next generation of pharmacists who, like him, have interests in both the business and practice of pharmacy. Hitting rewind to the years following his graduation from Drake, Brian has remained an active Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity Brother, holding multiple regional and national positions, including Grand Regent (e.g., President) internationally from 1999 to 2001. He currently serves as Treasurer on the National Board of the Kappa Psi Scholarship Foundation.
Brian splits his time between his permanent residence in Oxford, Mississippi, and his townhome in Urbandale, Iowa. In his spare time, he loves to break out his fishing rod and catch walleye and crappie. Sometimes, he even goes on fishing trips with fellow Kappa Psi brothers from all over. He is an avid Chicago Cubs fan and can often be found watching baseball. Otherwise, you’ll find him in his backyard playing fetch with his tennis-ball obsessed border collie, Jessie.