Senior Strategist: Robert Tancer

Photo Robert S. Tancer is a Senior Strategist providing expertise on issues related to the pharmaceutical and health sectors, intellectual property rights and international business law. Mr. Tancer is Professor Emeritus of International Studies at Thunderbird — The Garvin School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona, where he teaches courses at the graduate and executive level in intellectual property, legal problems of international business and trade, competition policy, the WTO and the pharmaceutical industry. Professor Tancer received his B.A. and LL.B from the University of Michigan in 1957 and a LL.M from Harvard University in 1960 and has practiced law in Washington, D.C., Buenos Aires, Argentina and Phoenix, Arizona. He has also worked for the Department of State.

Mr. Tancer has contributed articles to various journals in the areas of intellectual property in world trade, foreign investment and the pharmaceutical industry. He has recently published an article, "The Pharmaceutical Industry in India: Adapting to TRIPS", in The Journal of World Intellectual Property (March 1999) and a chapter, “Managing Intellectual Property Abroad: The Limits of Protection” in Thunderbird on Global Business Strategy, ed. R.E. Grosse, Wiley, 2000. He is also an active contributor to the Thunderbird Case Series and has recently written cases on AIDS in South Africa, medical process patents and cigarette advertising in Canada.

Professor Tancer is currently committed to several research projects dealing with the relationship of business practices, corporate responsibility and personal ethical issues, in the areas of intellectual property rights and labor and the environment. Professor Tancer is active in the community and serves as Immediate Past President of the Arizona Opera and is a Member of the Executive Committee and a Trustee of the Desert Botanical Garden. Professor Tancer resides in Phoenix with his wife.