Harlan Steinbaum, former chairman of Express Scripts, will discuss his book, “Tough Calls from the Corner Office” April 10 at UMSL.

As a businessman for more than 20 years, Harlan Steinbaum has made thousands of decisions. However, one call became his career-defining moment.

Steinbaum, former chairman of Express Scripts, will discuss that moment and his new book based on his experiences, “Tough Calls from the Corner Office” during a Business Forum at 5:30 p.m. April 10 in 126 Social Sciences and Business Building at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

He had a long and successful career in business as an innovator and leading executive in the retail drug industry. Steinbaum was chairman and chief executive officer of Medicare-Glaser, a large retail pharmacy chain in the United States. In 1972, he sold his company to Pet, Inc. with the hope of growing it more. He stayed on as group president, but wasn’t happy with the direction the company was taking. In a completely unorthodox business move, he negotiated to buy back the company– a decision that became his greatest and toughest call as an executive.

Under his leadership in 1982, Medicare-Glaser went on to become a public company listed on NASDAQ. In 1986, Medicare-Glaser and GenCare joined together to form Express Scripts, a Fortune 500 company. He served as the first chairman and CEO of Express Scripts, until retiring in 1989.

“Tough Calls from the Corner Office” chronicles Steinbaum’s experience as well as personal stories from other top business executives about the single most important business decision made during their careers

Copies of “Tough Calls from the Corner Office” will be available for purchase and signing. The event is free and open to the public and sponsored by the College of Business Administration at UMSL.