Edeker: Honored to Serve at "Crucial, Evolutionary Time"

PRESS RELEASE

Palm Beach, Fla. - Randy Edeker, chairman, CEO and president of Hy-Vee, Inc., today highlighted the value that his company derives from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) as a grocery retailer, and declared that he is “ready to serve” NACDS chain and associate members at a “crucial, evolutionary time.”

Edeker delivered his first remarks as the newly-elected chairman of NACDS at this morning’s NACDS Annual Meeting Business Program. Moments earlier, he accepted the chairman’s gavel from John Standley, chairman and CEO of Rite Aid Corporation, who concluded his one-year term as NACDS chairman.

In accepting the responsibilities of the chairmanship, he thanked representatives of chain and supplier companies who encouraged his engagement with NACDS — all of whom told him that “these are good people” who unite as an industry through NACDS. Acknowledging the personal and business relationships that flourish through NACDS has emerged as a consistent theme of the 2015 NACDS Annual Meeting.

In forecasting what lies ahead for NACDS over the next 12 months, Edeker described ten perspectives on the state of “ever-evolving healthcare.” These include ongoing changes related to: Medicaid; healthcare delivery; attitudes and expectations of care; specialty pharmacy; quality measurements; technology and patient-managed health; millennial trends; cybersecurity; growing collaboration among companies through NACDS; and government and political involvement.

“The evolution of healthcare is here, with pharmacies as the face of neighborhood healthcare,” Edeker said. “The new healthcare definition includes environmental factors, nutrition, the social environment, emotional and spiritual factors. All of that is now in the healthcare definition,” Edeker said.

Edeker noted priority areas that will help NACDS members succeed in this environment. He noted that NACDS’ ability to bring the industry together through efficient meetings and conferences is among the areas that have impressed him most, as is NACDS’ effectiveness in government relations.

The new NACDS chairman signaled his company’s strong commitment to using NACDS meetings and conferences — including the 2015 NACDS Total Store Expo, which will be held in Denver this August – to work with supplier partners on business planning and on innovative projects.

He noted the importance of the NACDS RxIMPACT grassroots advocacy program for effective government affairs, as well as the importance of the NACDS Political Action Committee.

In addition to noting the results and value of NACDS, Edeker described the public-health focus of the NACDS Foundation, including research in the areas of medication adherence and point-of-care testing. He made an announcement to indicate his company’s admiration for the NACDS’ Foundation’s work.

“Today, the Executive Committee of Hy-Vee has elected to make a one-time gift of $100,000 to the NACDS Foundation,” Edeker announced to appreciative applause.

In summarizing his remarks, Edeker outlined the rationale for his decision to engage in NACDS, saying that “in a typical week I spend 40 to 50 percent of my time dealing with some health, wellness or pharmacy issue.”

“I realized I had a great need,” he continued. “It was a strategic decision because this is where I need to be to move my company forward. Here we can have a voice. Here we can have an impact. And I am here to serve.”

Edeker also acknowledged Caitlin Pappas, vice president, U.S. consumer sales, Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, who supported and spoke at the Business Program. Similarly, Brian McNamara, Head of Europe and the Americas, GSK Consumer Healthcare, supported and spoke at Sunday’s Business Program.

Today’s Business Program also featured a keynote address by Dr. Lawrence H. Summers, who served as Director, White House National Economic Council from 2009-2010 and as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1999-2001.