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ST. LOUIS — George Paz will retire as Express Scripts Holding Co.’s chief executive officer in May, making way for president Tim Wentworth to take over, the company said earlier this month.
Paz, 60, has been CEO at Express Scripts for a decade. He helped engineer the company’s takeover of rival Medco Health Solutions in 2012. He is also credited with adopting strategies that helped the nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) effectively counter drug makers’ attempts to raise prices on their prescription medications. Like other PBMs, Express Scripts negotiates discounts with drug companies on behalf of insurers and employers. Increasingly, PBMs have offered drug companies exclusivity in exchange for lower prices on their drugs.
The Medco acquisition increased Express Scripts’ bargaining clout with manufacturers, Paz pointed out.
Wentworth came to Express Scripts through the $29 billion Medco acquisition. He led employer and key accounts at Medco for 14 years. He was named president of Express Scripts in early 2014.
“I am honored to lead Express Scripts, a vital health care company powered by 30,000 people who are passionate about delivering the best pharmacy care to patients,” Wentworth remarked. “Every day we put medicine within reach of 85 million people by uniquely combining innovative solutions, specialized care and focused, industry-leading scale. I am excited about our future and how we will continue to change health care, while delivering better value, service and care to clients and patients.”
Paz will continue as chairman of Express Scripts. “Tim is the right person to lead Express Scripts into the future,” Paz stated. “I have a high level of confidence in Tim that is shared by all of us who have seen him drive performance. I look forward to working with Tim, our senior leadership team and our board as we continue to deliver for clients, patients and shareholders.”
