Florence Sender (b. January 25, 1943 – d. October 19, 2012) was an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. She founded or served as a director of a number of companies. Sender taught at the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...

and co-founded its MIT Entrepreneurship Center.

Career in business

Sender founded, directed, or participated in a number of notable business ventures. She was described as a "serial entrepreneur."Albion, Mark S. ''True to Yourself: Leading a Values-Based Business''. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2006. p. 38

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Nibbles International

In 1978, Sender founded Nibbles International, a seller of all-natural cheese spreads and snacks that Sender developed and that were produced and distributed by

Beatrice Foods Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company founded in 1894. In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of ...

. For her work with Nibbles, she was recognized in 1987 as a runner-up for ''Inc.'' magazine's "hottest entrepreneur in America."Richman, Tom. "The Hottest Entrepreneur In America." '' Inc.''. 1 February 1987

/ref> The French food company

Bongrain Savencia Fromage & Dairy, named Bongrain until 2015, is a French food company specializing in the production of cheeses. Brands include Saint Agur Blue, Saint Albray, Etorki Etorki is a firm cheese made in the French Basque country, at Ma ...

purchased Nibbles in 1988.

Be Fine Food skincare line

In 2006, Sender founded Be Fine, a

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

-based maker of food-based skincare products. Be Fine's line, which is formulated entirely from food products, has been distributed by retailers including

CVS Pharmacy CVS Pharmacy, Inc. is an American retail corporation. A subsidiary of CVS Health, it is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was also known as, and originally named, the Consumer Value Store and was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in ...

Duane Reade Duane Reade Inc. ( ) is a chain of pharmacy and convenience stores owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance. Its stores are primarily located in New York City, and known for high-volume, small store layouts in densely populated Manhattan locations. In 2 ...

, and

Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. The company ranked No. 148 in the Fortune 500 lis ...

."Ride the wave of green business, sustainably." ''ukfast''. 11 September 2008

/ref> The company has been cited as an example of a green, sustainable enterprise.

ClickR

Sender was founder and CEO of ClickR, LLC, a 2010 retail start-up that she founded with her husband, Noam Sender. ClickR announced in September 2010 that it would launch a new skincare line in October 2010.

Sephora Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products. Featuring nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, Sephora offers beauty products including cosmetics, skincare, body, fragrance, n ...

began selling the start-up's products in January 2011. ClickR describes its products as "completely vegan" and designed to avoid irritating sensitive skin.Press release: "clickR: New Skin Care Collection Clicks with Youthful Skin." 24 September 201

/ref> In January 2011, the company announced that actor

Cam Gigandet Cameron Joslin Gigandet (; born August 16, 1982) is an American actor whose credits include a recurring role on ''The O.C.'' and appearances in feature films ''Twilight'', ''Pandorum'', ''Never Back Down'', '' Burlesque'', ''Easy A'', ''Priest'' ...

had signed on as a spokesperson for the brand, and characterized him as the "first official male spokesperson for a beauty brand."

Work in education

From 1989 to 1997, Sender was an Executive Director of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, a ...

, where she taught MBA students. Sender also lectured at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

."Tufts Initiative for Leadership and International Perspective: 1999-2000." Tufts University

/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sender, Florence American women in business MIT Sloan School of Management faculty 1943 births 2012 deaths American women academics 21st-century American women