Our fearless leader...

Don't you just wanna tell him to piss up a rope

 

No we hope we never see you again or have to listen to your lame quotes and choice of music!!

thanks, No thanks!

The email should read: Falling of the Epic!

 

His email was crazy

 

He actually referenced Fortnight. Enough said

 

I couldn't finish reading it. Fitting.

 

Someone needs to post it here so it gets a wider audience!

 

An epic is a poem, book, or film, whose story extends over a long period of time and typically tells of great adventures. Frequently overused as an adjective, epic refers to something that is monumental and impressive. Even my kids’ current favorite video game, Fortnite, is made by a company called Epic Games. Either way, I believe Shire’s story is an epic of nearly 33 years, and Shire is an epic company by any comparison.



Yet this epic comes to an end on January 8, 2019, nearly 33 years since the company was conceived in February 1986 above a shop in a small town near Basingstoke, UK. Even the name will eventually disappear. I’ve always assumed that Shire refers to the British draught horse known for being large, tall, and incredibly strong. I think the company grew into its name over time. Whether we have been part of this journey for many years or only a short time, we can each be proud of what we have achieved and contributed to this epic.



Shire has become the global leader in rare disease with over 23,000 employees, innovative therapies available in over 100 countries, and 70% of our sales from rare diseases. To achieve this, we built a platform of distinct and complementary capabilities to meet the unique needs of rare disease patients. We designed innovative clinical trials with novel endpoints, built strong relationships with regulatory agencies, developed long-lasting partnerships with patient advocacy groups, and expanded our ability to manufacture complex products and plasma derived therapies. We also developed best-in-class capabilities to identify and support patients, their caregivers and physicians. We should all be extremely proud of the company that we have built together.



Each of us have places we return to when we need to reset and gather new energy. For me that is often Zermatt, a town in mountainous southern Switzerland. One of the restaurants there is called Whymperstube, a place you go to for traditional Swiss cheese fondue. It is named after the British mountaineer Edward Whymper, the first to reach the top of the famous alpine peak, the Matterhorn. One of his quotes makes me reflect on the story of Shire and its ups and downs:



“There have been joys too great to be described in words, and there have been griefs upon which I have not dared to dwell; and with these in mind I say: Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from beginning think what may be the end.”



We knew what that end goal was – to be the global leader in rare diseases. We achieved our goal, which few would have thought we could attain. I know we all have these stories in us. As I reflect back, my own story is just one example of thousands of individual stories which have made Shire possible. Growing up in Western Denmark, in humble surroundings, I dreamt of one day becoming a physician. For me, this was an opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way and to leave a mark beyond myself through the impact on patients. I was even willing to let go of my other big dream - becoming a professional soccer player - in order to achieve my true aspiration.



Little did I know at the time that I would enter the pharma-biotech industry, yet those early years formed me more than anything. I find the following quote by Khalid Hosseini (Afghani novelist and physician 1965-) particularly meaningful:



“Qualities you need to get through medical school and residency: Discipline. Patience. Perseverance. A willingness to forgo sleep. Ability to weather crises of faith and self-confidence.... and unfailing optimism that the end is in sight.”



As a student I hitchhiked a lot and one of the places I visited was Skagen, at the very northern most point of Jutland, Denmark. The small village on the edge of the rough sea was a famous artist colony from the 1890s to the 1920s. The "Skagen painters", as they are now known, went there because of the light and lived in very minimalist conditions. I discovered two of my favorite painters there - Michael Peter Ancher and his wife Anna Ancher. One of his paintings that is very meaningful to me is called The Sick Girl (Den syge pige).



Images such as this painting say so much more than words can about our purpose at Shire and my personal goal: focusing on patients and developing products that truly make a difference in people's lives. As a patient at last year’s Connecticut Rare Disease Day event noted, "a disease may be rare, but hope should never be." I am sure each of you has a story that shows why you chose to work at Shire.



Throughout my career, I have come to believe that it all boils down to innovation, developing truly great products that changes people’s lives, always keeping patients at the center of what we do, and never losing the perspective of physicians and caregivers. When I joined Shire, one of my early inspirations was to build a rare disease leader. I felt that Shire could be almost like a pediatric hospital where we would have innovative and truly life changing products for each ward and each specialty. We came close to this with our broad portfolio of therapies. Now, with the combination of Shire and Takeda, this dream may finally come true.



The last words belong to you, my colleagues. One of my absolute favorite writers, also a physician, Anton Chekhov, said:



“You must trust and believe in people or life becomes impossible."



I could not agree more. You are an amazing team. It has been an absolute privilege and honor to have served as your leader for nearly six years. I could not have asked for a more talented, dedicated, and fun team.



In the words of one of my favorite bands, Coldplay, “Cause you're a sky, you're a sky full of stars. Such a heavenly view. You're such a heavenly view.”



I thank you so much for venturing on this journey with me to become the undisputed rare disease leader - and we achieved it together. We have had our successes and challenges along the road but as Chekhov said:



“We learn about life not from plusses alone, but from minuses as well.”



Now, you have an incredible opportunity at Takeda, or wherever your path takes you, to continue to champion rare diseases and maintain a laser focus on true innovation and patient-centricity. I know you will do so and look forward to hearing about your endeavors and progress.



And you know I always like to leave you with a few song tips, and for this occasion I have one final recommendation. Andrea Bocelli (and Sarah Brightman), “Time to say good bye”, which The Italian opera singer released in 1995 under the title – “Con te Partiro”. I like the literal translation better “I’ll leave with you” - meaning we all start anew, but we always have what we created together.



With the words of William Shakespeare: "Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again."



In humble gratitude,



Flemming

 

Even better than his infamous Canary Islands email.

This guy has some serious issues.

 

His goal when he arrived was to sell Shire to the highest bidder. Mission accomplished Flem. Your damage is done. Take whatever it was you were smoking, drinking or popping when you wrote this and go away. Farewell and I hope our paths NEVER cross again.

 

Amen to that. A true textbook example of narcissistic sociopath. Who pens a letter about selling off a company and turns into a story about himself? To say this crackpot hires people in his image is an understatement. The list is long of other psychos he brought in here to “manage the business”

Long gone are the days of Shire’s greatness and have been for four to five years now. Stick your email up your ass!

 

Funny how he stole something like 10 quotes from other people and artists, much like he stole this company from its employees.

It’s also convenient that he can just jet off to his favorite place in Switzerland while everyone else tries to learn their fate and whether they will still be employed in a month or two.

Lastly, in his comments about patient-centricity, do you think he was referring to the little boy with Huntington’s Disease that he denied treatment to under the compassionate use program? Poor kid even got up from the table at the meeting and tried to hug him.

My only explanation is some lackey in corporate communications wrote this whole thing for him. Now you can add that to the list of things Flem stole.

Unbelievable!

 

Can anyone share information on the SE manager? I'm interviewing for a position in Miami and would like to get some accurate information.
Thanks in advance.

 

Wow! Takeda employee here. If a Shire employee down the road simply said this guy used to leave crazy long a** emails I wouldn’t think much of it. When reading his actual email, all I kept thinking was “Oh no — not another quote! Is this for real? How did he get his job or get anything done?” You can’t make this s**t up!

 

and we can't forget the shire board has had just as much to gain from all of this including the hiring of him and building up the value to be sold off...successfully, the second time, at least of which we are aware. There were probably many other offers and negotiations over the past couple of years since these characters came in.

 

This is just one of about 3 crazy ass emails this guy has written to the entire company

 

Epic fail?

 

This isn't even the best. Someone needs to find his email when he shared recipes!!!!!!!!!! Or maybe the one with the song lyrics! No, we can not make this up!

 

This thread should changed to, “Our Feckless Leader”