Onward & Upward

When Charles Sanders was a fifth grader in Texas, a teacher told him he’d likely never be as good as his older brother. From that day forward, Charles Sanders set a determined course to prove his teacher wrong.

He has succeeded as a cardiology researcher, physician, hospital administrator, pharmaceutical company executive (twice) and leader of nationwide as well as international civic endeavors, all designed to help make lives better for those most vulnerable.  

For more than four decades in both public and private sectors, Sanders has been a driving force in the medical, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Though he didn’t start the biotech effort in either state, Massachusetts, where he started his career, is the now nation’s leading biotech state, and North Carolina, where he ended his professional work, is pushing to the top in that field. 

Over the years, political and industry leaders alike have counted on this brilliant man, a proud Texan with a bandana in his pocket, relying on his invaluable skills as a strategist and innovator.

Ned Cline

Ned Cline, a veteran North Carolina journalist, has chronicled the lives and careers of public officials for more than 40 years. This is his eighth biography since leaving daily journalism where he was a reporter, editor and public issues columnist. He studied politics at Catawba College and was a 1973-74 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He and his wife, Linda, reside in Burlington.