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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Robert Fasola, VP of trade and distribution accounts for Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., has been awarded with the HDA 2024 Nexus Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award was presented last night at the Healthcare Distribution Alliance’s Business and Leadership Conference in Colorado Springs.
The healthcare distribution industry’s highest individual achievement since 1956, the Nexus Award recognizes one executive for their exceptional character, accomplishments, and leadership in the healthcare distribution industry, HDA and their community. Nominees are requested from all HDA members and Foundation stakeholders, with honorees voted upon by the HDA Executive Committee and the HDA Research Foundation Board of Directors.
Pictured left to right: HDA president and CEO Chip Davis; Robert Fasola, vice president of
trade and distribution accounts for Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A.; and Perry Fri, EVP,
industry relations and member services and COO, HDA Research Foundation
“In a career spanning more than three decades, Bob Fasola has combined compassion and persistence to achieve great things for Takeda, for patients and for his community,” said Chester “Chip” Davis, Jr., President and CEO of HDA. “The HDA Research Foundation is proud to recognize his remarkable professional and philanthropic achievements through the Nexus Award.”
Mr. Fasola, who currently oversees Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ trade distribution and operations, customer service and trade analytics functions, began his career in sales at The Hershey Company. He then switched industries when he joined TAP Pharmaceuticals in 1992. Over 30 years (first at TAP, then Takeda), he held various roles as a district trainer and in sales and managed markets. He has served in the trade relations role for 25 years, building the function from a team of one to nearly 25 individuals. Currently, he also serves as an executive sponsor for the Patient Market and Access team’s Executive Diversity Equity and Inclusion Council.
Under Mr. Fasola’s leadership, the Takeda trade relations team has been honored multiple times as a vendor of the year by McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, H. D. Smith (now Cencora) and Anda. Additionally, his team has received nearly 10 HDA DIANA distinctions, including a Best New Product Launch/Promotion Award for the launch of Entyvio® (2015) as well as an HDA Manufacturer Partner of the Year (2018). Bob is currently a member of the HDA Research Foundation Board of Directors, a position he has held since 2022. Additionally, through Bob’s active participation in HDA, Takeda has been a longtime sponsor of the association’s annual conferences.
Beyond his career achievements, Mr. Fasola is known for several charitable and humanitarian endeavors. For over a decade he has served on the board of the Karen Carns Foundation, which supports families experiencing a death or life-changing event. He received the organization’s Humanitarian Award in 2019. Further, the Fasola family established the Bob and Linda Fasola Family-Endowed Scholarship at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati. Mr. Fasola also volunteers at Dayton University, mentoring students within its communications program on business and leadership skills.
The 2024 Nexus Award for Lifetime Achievement was made possible through the support of Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems and Viatris.
