Meet Bart and Mary: Sanofi Leaders Redefining Work-Life Balance

Bart Seider: Giving Back Through Scouting

Bart's days are filled with forecasting models, governance reviews, and the kind of financial analysis that keeps Sanofi's commercial operations running smoothly. His evenings and weekends look entirely different. For 12-15 weekends a year, plus a full week of vacation, Bart volunteers with Scouting America, serving as both a hands-on leader for two Troops of teenagers and treasurer for his daughter's Troop.

He didn't set out to track how much time Scouting took. His daughter, logging her own volunteer hours for school, asked if he kept tabs on his. He didn't, until the two of them sat down with the family calendar and started adding it up. The number surprised even him. Weekly meetings, monthly camping trips, summer camp, service projects: Scouting has simply become part of how his family spends its time together. Bart earned his Eagle Scout award decades ago and says the mentorship he received as a teenager still shapes how he shows up for the kids in his troops today.

When Life Shifts

That steadiness was tested in the fall of 2025, when one of his children was diagnosed with a genetic eye condition causing progressive vision loss. "Everything else came to a halt for a few weeks while we sought to understand their current situation, prognosis, and the support they needed to feel safe and be successful," Bart recalls. The family is still adjusting to an evolving, uncertain reality. As Bart reflects on it now, the experience has reinforced how he leads at work.

"It's an anchor point that reinforces my perspective that we need to be flexible to meet people where they are," he says. "What we need changes over time." That's the foundation of his advice to other working parents: get clear on priorities, accept that they'll shift, and talk honestly with the people around you, starting at home. "Life is a team sport," he says. "We can do both."

Mary Dugan: Advocacy as a Way of Life

Mary spends her days leading teams that help patients and healthcare providers navigate hemophilia, oncology, and rare hematology care. Outside of work, she has spent the past several years serving as primary caregiver for her brother, who suffered a severe stroke and now lives with aphasia, and her 91-year-old mother, who has faced significant mobility challenges.

When doctors told Mary that her brother didn't qualify for acute rehabilitation and would likely be discharged to a nursing home, she disagreed. "I strongly believed he had much more potential for recovery than was being projected, so I challenged that decision and advocated relentlessly on his behalf," she says. He was ultimately placed in one of the best rehabilitation programs in the region. Today, he lives independently, drives again, and continues therapy with a positive attitude Mary calls one of the most inspiring things she's witnessed.

Around the same time, Mary helped her mother make the difficult decision to leave the home she'd lived in for years and move into an independent living community. The transition, while emotional, became an unexpected blessing. Her mother has built an active social life there and now lives in the same community as Mary's brother, giving the two of them daily time together for the first time in years.

Leading With Empathy

Mary continued leading large teams and delivering results throughout this period. "Supporting individuals and maintaining high-performance standards are not mutually exclusive," she says. "The best teams are built on both accountability and compassion." She credits her caregiving experience with deepening her empathy, both for her team and for the patients her department supports every day. "Everyone has a voice and wants to be heard," she says, "even if they communicate differently."

A Culture That Supports What's Possible

Both Bart and Mary point to the same thing when asked what helped them manage it all: a workplace culture built on trust and flexibility. For Bart, that has meant flexible use of vacation and personal time, along with a culture that supports flexible ways of working. "We set high standards for performance, and then I'm empowered to find ways of working that allow me to meet those expectations while managing the reality that I exist outside of the building," he says.

Mary credits leaders who evaluated her on her contributions while understanding that life events sometimes require flexibility, and teammates who supported one another through difficult stretches. "Knowing that people understood my situation and were willing to support me when necessary reduced a great deal of stress," she says. "Sanofi's commitment to well-being, inclusion, and putting people first helps create an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing caregiving responsibilities and seeking support when they need it."

Their advice to colleagues facing similar demands is nearly the same. Ask for help. Communicate honestly. Don't try to carry it alone. As Mary puts it, "Know that you are not alone." And as Bart adds, "Don't suffer in silence."

We're proud to congratulate Bart and Mary on this well-earned recognition, and grateful to work alongside colleagues who show us, every day, what's possible when leadership and commitment move in the same direction.