Table of Contents
ARLINGTON, Va. — Cathy Polley, a retail veteran who most recently served as vice president of health and wellness at the Food Marketing Institute and as executive director of the FMI Foundation, died November 2. She was 56.
Cathy Polley
A registered pharmacist, Polley was hailed by many as a leading advocate for the profession. In spearheading FMI’s health and wellness initiatives, Polley emphasized how grocery stores could leverage such assets as food, pharmacy and nutrition to help customers lead healthy lives. She also led the association’s advocacy on federal pharmacy policy issues.
As executive director of the FMI Foundation, she helped support research and education in the areas of food safety, nutrition and health.
Before joining FMI, Polley was chief policy officer and senior vice president of government and professional affairs at the American Pharmacists Association. She also served as vice president of state government affairs at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, a position in which she oversaw development and implementation of NACDS’ state legislative, regulatory and political agenda.
Prior to joining NACDS, Polley spent over 19 years at Kmart Corp. in numerous positions within the pharmacy division. She began her career as a graduate intern at Kmart and, upon licensure, was a frontline pharmacist there for eight years. She was then promoted to various positions, including pharmacy district manager, director of pharmacy operations, director of pharmacy health services and third party, and director of government and trade relations.
