Content about chief executive

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Friday will open the doors to "Wag U," an internal education center replete with technology-enhanced classrooms, a mock drug store and video-conferencing capabilities. The new learning center will be the base of operations for employee educational programs offered online and in regional locations nationwide. 

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The University of Illinois College of Pharmacy has named Kirby Lester president and CEO Garry Zage its 2012 Alumnus of the Year, the pharmacy automation manufacturer said Tuesday.

Zage, who graduated from the college in 1977, purchased Kirby Lester in 2005. He has worked in pharmacy for more than 35 years and focused on pharmacy automation for more than 15 years, the company said, adding that the award recognizes graduates who are innovators, exhibit leadership and have contributed significantly to the pharmacy profession.

BOSTON — The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America announced Friday the appointment of Eli Lilly chairman, president and CEO John Lechleiter as PhRMA chairman at its annual meeting. The group also elected Celgene president and CEO Robert Hugin as chairman-elect of its board of directors and Pfizer president and CEO Ian Read as board treasurer. Lechleiter replaces Sanofi CEO Christopher Viehbacher as chairman.

LONDONDERRY, N.H. — Stonyfield has appointed a new chief executive.

The company announced that Walt Freese, CEO at Ben & Jerry's, will join Stonyfield later this month and will be overseeing the organic yogurt company, including such brands and product lines as Stonyfield's core organic yogurts, rapidly growing Organic Oikos Greek Yogurt, and popular product lines including YoBaby, YoToddler and YoKids.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Ric Jurgens, chairman and CEO of Midwestern supermarket chain Hy-Vee, will retire on June 1, the company said Wednesday.

Jurgens, 62, began working for Hy-Vee 42 years ago while a student at Iowa State University, taking a full-time position after his graduation. In 1995, he was named SVP and chief administrative officer, becoming president in 2001, CEO in 2003 and chairman in 2006. Jurgens said he will ask the company's board of directors to elect president and COO Randy Edeker as chairman and CEO.

The way chief executive R. David Yost sees it, AmerisourceBergen Corp.’s Good Neighbor Pharmacy program is a bulwark for independent pharmacists against the pressures of a brutally competitive pharmacy market and an unforgiving economy.


The Consumer Healthcare Products Association may not be painting pink Pepto-Bismol mustaches on a group of Hollywood celebrities and professional athletes as part of the new campaign it plans to fully unveil in June, but the goal is more or less the same as the “Got Milk?” ads.

“Got milk?” has become ubiquitous. There is 100% clarity of message. The milk mustache says it all: Milk is an essential food and an integral part of a healthy diet; it HAS TO BE in your refrigerator, on your breakfast table and in your lunch box.

INDIANAPOLIS — John Johnson is bidding Eli Lilly adieu.

Johnson, who served as SVP and president of the drug maker's oncology business — whose portfolio includes Alimta (pemetrexed) and Gemzar (gemcitabine hydrochloride) — resigned, effective Jan. 28. Johnson is taking on the chief executive role at specialty biopharmaceutical company Savient, effective Jan. 31. Savient is best known for its chronic gout treatment Krystexxa (pegloticase), which received regulatory approval in September 2010.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — As Walmart’s U.S. stores division looks to execute a broad slate of initiatives in the coming year to recharge domestic growth, it does so under the leadership of a new chief executive and a restructured merchandising organization.


CAMDEN, N.J. Campbell Soup Co.'s chief executive is retiring at the end of the company's fiscal year.

Doug Conant will step down from his role as president and CEO, a position he has held since 2001, on July 31, 2011, the company said Tuesday. Campbell's board of directors appointed EVP and COO Denise Morrison to lead the company at the beginning of fiscal 2012. Morrison also has been elected a director of the company as of Oct. 1.