People on the move … Oct. 19
Drug Store News has rounded up all the retail pharmacy comings and goings to help keep you informed. Here are this week’s announcements.
CVS Health appoints Amar Desai to lead Health Care Delivery organization
CVS Health has appointed Amar Desai as president of Health Care Delivery effective Oct. 17. He will lead the newly formed organization and will oversee implementation of key areas of the company's health services and care delivery strategy.
"This new organization will leverage the strength of the CVS Health portfolio to develop and implement payor-agnostic products and services," said CVS Health President and CEO Karen S. Lynch. "Amar's deep background in clinical delivery and value-based care will be an asset as we continue to deliver high-quality health and wellness care to our members and consumers."
Desai will oversee the company's clinical delivery strategy to support retail health, chronic disease management and behavioral health. He will report to Lynch.
Prior to joining CVS Health, Desai served as president and CEO of Optum Pacific West, where he was responsible for overseeing an integrated delivery network with more than 20,000 physicians serving 2.5 million patients. Prior to Optum, he served as president of HealthCare Partners, a value-based medical group serving over 700,000 patients.
"CVS Health is uniquely positioned to change the way that consumers receive, pay for and experience their care," Desai said. "I look forward to working with the CVS Health management team as we continue to deliver new solutions to improve outcomes for the people we serve."
National Confectionery Sales Association inducts 12 to Candy Hall of Fame
The National Confectionery Sales Association recently inducted 12 industry leaders into its Hall of Fame. These individuals, the association said, have significantly impacted the confectionery industry.
The 2022 Candy Hall of Fame inductees were: Doug Boes, Shankman & Associates, Inc.; Jennifer Dilts, Dollar General Corp.; Peter Greweling, Culinary Institute of America; Jeff Grossman, YummyEarth, Inc.; Dwayne Hallan, Long Grove Confectionery Co.; Terri Hoggatt, Jelly Belly Candy Co.; Mark McArdle, McArdle, Inc.; Troy Pearley, Divine Chocolate Ltd.; Stacey Rutherford, Burdette Beckmann Inc.; Edward Seibolt, Fannie May Confections/Ferrero; and Paul Adams and Emmert Brooks, Adams & Brooks, Inc., who are being inducted posthumously.
“Congratulations to the Candy Hall of Fame Class of 2022,” said Joe Melville, NCSA president. “We are proud to recognize these 12 dedicated professionals and honor their commitment to the confectionery industry. Each honoree boasts more than 20 years of service and experience, helping to evolve, innovate and pioneer the industry as a whole. We celebrate each of these deserving individuals and their many accomplishments.
Michelle Johnson named CEO of Metrum Research Group
Metrum Research Group, a biomedical modeling and simulation solutions company, has named Michelle Johnson its CEO, succeeding founder Marc Gastonguay.
Johnson was previously Chief Operating Officer of MetrumRG, where she provided strategic business direction for the fulfillment of MetrumRG’s mission and goals and was instrumental in building and leading a high-performance business team.
“I am honored to lead this fantastic organization,” Johnson said. “Metrum Research Group sits at the intersection of the best scientific expertise and cutting-edge technology. We are excited for this next chapter in our growth and evolution, and I am particularly thankful to Marc and the entire executive team for their trust.”
Gastonguay, who founded MetrumRG in 2004, will remain chairman of the board of directors and will serve as a strategic advisor to Johnson and the executive team.
“Given the growth and development of our world-class team and the opportunities in front of us, I knew it was time to hand over the reins and focus on governance versus day-to-day management,” Gastonguay said. “Michelle was the undisputed choice for the CEO role. She is deeply valued internally by our team, and she has been a respected partner among our community and customers. All of our stakeholders are in the best hands with Michelle as our CEO."
Pod Foods adds 3 members to the team to support growth and national expansion
Pod Foods, a grocery B2B marketplace platform, has added three new executives to its team.
Leading the new additions is Peter Gialantzis, who previously led the growth team at KeHE, a national wholesale food distributor. Timothy Wee and Ankit Patel also join the leadership team with a breadth of relevant industry experience coming from companies like Amazon and Boxed, the company said.
Pod Foods said that as it continues to expand its national presence, its team has grown significantly from 33 employees in December 2020, to more than 70. “These new hires are bringing renowned grocery industry and technology experience to Pod Foods to promote innovation in the space and execute faster on the company vision,” the company added.
Here are the new team members:
Peter Gialantzis
Joining as vice president of business development, Gialantzis is fresh off a six-year stint at KeHE Distributors where he helped grow the Fresh, Exclusive Brands and E-commerce businesses. With experience at KeHE to source and implement a national scale supply chain, Peter is a perfect fit to join the Pod Foods team as it moves toward nationwide expansion and understands the need for local and regional itemization, the company said.
Timothy Wee
Wee will lead the engineering team at Pod Foods as chief technology officer. One of the company's early investors, Wee led and worked on Machine Learning teams in multiple notable Silicon Valley tech giants including Google, Amazon and Walmart Labs. His strong experience in scaling marketplace platforms and building technical infrastructure is instrumental to Pod Foods' rapid growth and competitive advantage, the company said.
Ankit Patel
Patel is the company's new COO. Previously, Ankit led vendor management teams across merchandising, marketing and supply chain in Boxed, an online wholesale retailer. He brings to Pod Foods his deep expertise and experience in CPG, wholesale commerce and scaling supply chain to support the company in an exciting time of growth, the company said.