Chain Drug Review has named Rick Gates, College of Pharmacy alumnus and Walgreens' senior vice president of pharmacy and health care, Pharmacy Executive of the Year for his dedication to expanding community pharmacist roles as health care providers. Under his leadership, Walgreens' pharmacies have nationally administered over 45 million COVID-19 vaccines, and the company is continually investing in technology and partnerships that enable improved customer care.

“One good example of this is our strategic partnership with VillageMD, which we recently announced an additional $5.2 billion investment in to accelerate the opening of 1,000 Village Medical at Walgreens primary care practices by 2027. Working together with VillageMD, we’re reimagining how co-located care teams with primary care physicians and pharmacists can make health care easier and more effective than ever before,” Gates says.

Gates—the first to graduate from college in his family—began his pharmacy career when he was 14 at a local pharmacy in Des Moines. He attributes that experience to his passion for pharmacy and community health.

 “It all goes back to where I started at that local independent pharmacy in Iowa. Pharmacy and pharmacists can have a huge impact on the communities we serve. This type of care and interest in our community’s overall health inspired me to become a pharmacist in the first place, and I look forward to seeing how our pharmacists step forward to be the connective tissue of care in each community they are in."

View the Chain Drug Review article here.