Robert Emmet Hannan

Robert Emmet Hannan, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and accomplished business leader, passed away on June 6, 2025 surrounded by loved ones.

Born in Pittsburgh on December 7, 1946, Bob was the son of the late William and Virginia (Lydon) Hannan. Following early years in Weehawken, New Jersey, Bob faced the profound loss of both parents care by age 10, when he was more officially tasked with his ongoing responsibilities to care for and even provide the basics of food for his much younger brother. He (and his brother) soon returned to Pittsburgh, where he was lovingly raised by his aunt and uncle, the late Robert “Uncle Bob” and Ruth (Lydon) Schibler.

A testament to resilience and determination, Bob worked demanding jobs in Pittsburgh’s steel mills to put himself through college. He graduated from John Carroll University in 1968, later earning his MBA from Rutgers College and completing the Dale Carnegie Executive Training Program.

Bob began his professional journey at some of the top marketing and advertising companies in New York City, progressing through managerial roles before shifting to product management at Block Drug and starting to form some of his key business relationships. Bob moved on to Becton Dickinson Immunodiagnostics where he truly shaped and refined his craft and powerfully expanded his professional network. In parallel during this time, he also served as an adjunct Marketing professor at Montclair State University.

In the early 1980s, from the basement of his Glen Ridge, New Jersey home, Bob founded Genesis Consulting. As a strategic advisor and research publisher, he forged a top-flight consulting firm focused on the evolving pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets, growing it into a highly successful business and advising many of the very top global players until its successful sale to Wolters Kluwer in 2000. The years of hard work, dedication and success allowed Bob the fortune of entering retirement at the age of 54.

Bob is survived by his beloved wife, Karen Lee (Flanagan) Hannan; his son and daughter-in-law, Sean Kilian and Elizabeth Caledonia Hannan; son and Daughter-in-law, Ryan Patrick and Sharon Rabalais Hannan, and daughter and son-in-law, Tara Caitilin Hannan and Rober Bruecken; his cherished grandchildren Landry, Ella, Reese, Owen Emmet, Declan, and Maeve; his brother John Michael Hannan and his children. And always dear to his heart, close cousins Patricia Hannan and the late Jim Lydon and surviving wife Kate. He is also survived by many dear cousins, extended family members, and lifelong friends.

Whether enjoying a world-class wine, sailing in hurricane winds, rehabbing an old home, a vigorous hike in Balsam Mountain Preserve North Carolina with friends or his wife Karen, or riding his Harley, he always approached life fearlessly and with endless energy. Bob’s legacy of grit, intelligence, determination, wit, resilience, Irish pride and devotion to family will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

Funeral services will be conducted on Friday, June 20, 2025, at 10:00 AM at Holy Family Catholic Church. Visitation with the family on Thursday, June 19, from 4-7:00 PM at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home, and one hour prior to the service on Friday. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in the name of “Bob Hannan” can be made to the Montclair YMCA www.montclairymca.org/giving or Alzheimer’s Discovery https://www.alzdiscovery.org/donate.

WILLIAMSON MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES

615-794-2289     www.williamsonmemorial.com