Most people follow a pretty predictable path. You pick a career in your twenties, climb the ladder, and eventually settle into a comfortable retirement with a gold watch and a decent 401(k). David B Bandler Jr was not most people. If you look at his life on paper, it reads like three or four different biographies stitched together. He was a high-flying ad man in Hong Kong. He was a PhD who taught at Carnegie Mellon. He was a marathon runner who occasionally played tennis in a skirt just to prove a point about gender ratios on the court. Honestly, it’s rare to find someone who successfully pivoted from the cutthroat world of 1970s advertising to the deeply empathetic field of drug and alcohol counseling, but David B Bandler Jr managed to do exactly that.
He was born in White Plains, New York, and grew up in the suburbs surrounding the city. Education was clearly a priority for him, but not in the way you might expect. He didn't just get a degree and stop; he seemed to collect them like others collect stamps. He started at Princeton, graduating in 1965 with a degree in English literature. From there, he moved to Columbia for a master’s and eventually landed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for a doctorate.
The Ketchum Years and the Pivot to Pittsburgh
While he spent time teaching at CMU, the corporate world eventually called. He spent a significant chunk of his career as a senior executive at Ketchum Advertising (formerly Ketchum MacLeod & Grove). This wasn't some mid-level management gig. We’re talking about a high-stakes, international career. He even spent time working in Hong Kong, a detail that colleagues like Barry Specter remembered years later as a period where David remained a "true gentleman" despite the high-pressure environment of the industry.
He lived in Pittsburgh for over 50 years. It became his adopted home, the place where he transformed from a marketing executive into something entirely different.
Imagine spending decades worrying about brand positioning and market share, and then deciding, in your later years, that what you really want to do is help people get sober. That's exactly what he did. He went back to school yet again, this time to the University of Pittsburgh, to earn a Master of Social Work. He didn't do it for the prestige—he already had a PhD. He did it because he wanted to work on the ground as a drug and alcohol counselor.
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Why This Career Shift Actually Matters
It’s easy to gloss over a career change in an obituary, but think about the mental shift required here. The skills that make you a great advertising executive—persuasion, understanding human desire, analyzing behavior—are surprisingly applicable to counseling. However, the intent is the polar opposite. In advertising, you’re often trying to convince people they need something they don't have. In counseling, especially for addiction, you’re helping people realize they already have the strength to give up something that's killing them.
David B Bandler Jr became a fixture in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Friends often saw him walking through the community, a man who was as likely to be discussing a new poem he’d written as he was to be talking about his latest photography project. He wasn't just a worker; he was a "prolific writer," according to those who knew him best.
Tennis, Poetry, and the Quirky Side of David B Bandler Jr
If you talk to his old friends, like Lisa Mullenneaux, they don't lead with his resume. They lead with the time he showed up to the tennis courts in a skirt. Apparently, there was a lack of female players in his circle at the time, and in his own witty, slightly eccentric way, he decided to "improve" the situation by dressing the part. It tells you a lot about his spirit. He was fun-loving and adventurous, not some dry academic or a stiff executive.
- He ran several marathons.
- He was a serious nature photographer.
- He wrote poetry throughout his entire life, often producing it with an ease that frustrated his more "laborious" writer friends.
He passed away on December 31, 2018, at the age of 75. While he never married, his legacy lived on through his sister, Ellen Fertig, his stepbrothers, and a small army of nieces and nephews who essentially viewed him as the "cool, witty uncle" who was always up for an adventure.
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Lessons from a Multi-Hyphenate Life
The story of David B Bandler Jr is a reminder that you don't have to be just one thing. In a world that demands specialization, he chose expansion. He was a scholar, a teacher, a businessman, a counselor, and an artist.
If you're looking to apply the "Bandler method" to your own life or career, here are some actionable takeaways:
Don't fear the late-game pivot. If you've spent 20 years in one industry and feel a pull toward something more service-oriented, the transition is possible. Your "old" skills often provide a unique perspective in a new field.
Maintain a creative outlet. David didn't just write when it was part of his job. He wrote poetry because it was part of his soul. Keeping a hobby—whether it's photography, running, or writing—is what keeps the "executive" side of your brain from burning out.
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Community presence is undervalued. He didn't just live in Pittsburgh; he was of Pittsburgh. He was a recognizable face in Squirrel Hill and on the Davis School tennis courts. Real success is often measured by the number of people in your neighborhood who are genuinely saddened when you're no longer there to walk past their house.
Ultimately, he proved that you can be a "senior executive" and still be a "quirky, brilliant mind." You don't have to trade your personality for a paycheck.
For those researching the Bandler family tree, it is worth noting that he was the son of David B. Bandler Sr. and Ernestine Blum. While he shared a name with his father, he clearly carved out a path that was uniquely his own, spanning from the boardrooms of Hong Kong to the counseling offices of Pennsylvania.
Next Steps for Research:
If you are looking for more specific details on his advertising work, searching for historical archives of Ketchum MacLeod & Grove from the 1970s and 80s will yield the most professional data. For his literary contributions, check local Pittsburgh poetry anthologies or Princeton alumni publications from the late 60s.