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SAN FRANCISCO — McKesson Corp. has appointed Mark Walchirk, a top executive in its specialty drug unit, as president of McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical, the company’s largest business.
The pharmaceutical distributor said Monday that Walchirk takes over as U.S. Pharmaceutical president from Brian Tyler, who was recently named executive vice president of corporate strategy and business development for McKesson Corp. Tyler had stayed on as U.S. Pharmaceutical president until a successor was found.
Walchirk most recently was chief operating officer of McKesson Specialty Health and has held various leadership roles at McKesson for the last 11 years, including chief operating officer of McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical.
As McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical president, Walchirk will oversee McKesson’s largest operating unit, which supplies branded, generic and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals and value-added business, clinical and connectivity solutions to more than 40,000 customers, including retail drug chains, independent retail pharmacies, hospitals, health systems, integrated delivery networks and long-term care providers.
Walchirk reports to Paul Julian, executive vice president and group president at McKesson Corp.
"With past roles as chief operating officer of McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical and McKesson Specialty Health, Mark Walchirk has deep leadership experience in our pharmaceutical distribution business and a proven track record of delivering results for our customers," Julian said in a statement. "Mark’s significant experience coupled with his commitment to operational excellence and our customers’ success make him the ideal choice to lead McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical."
Walchirk joined McKesson in 2001 and spent more than eight years in leadership roles within the U.S. Pharmaceutical business before being appointed president of McKesson Specialty Care Solutions in 2009.
The company said he led McKesson’s integration of US Oncology and assumed the role of chief operating officer for the newly combined organization, McKesson Specialty Health. In that role, he helped lead the business to record growth and introduce new solutions that empower the community patient care delivery system, the company noted.
And a senior vice president and chief operating officer of McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical, Walchirk led the integration of regional distributors D&K Healthcare and McQueary Bros., contributed to the dramatic growth of McKesson’s Health Mart franchise, led the expansion of McKesson’s pharmaceutical distribution business in the institutional market, and guided McKesson to industry-leading levels of accuracy and efficiency across the company’s nationwide distribution network, according to the company.
Before joining McKesson, Walchirk spent 13 years in medical-surgical distribution and manufacturing with Baxter Healthcare, Allegiance Healthcare and Encompass Group, holding various leadership positions in sales, marketing, operations and business development.
Walchirk’s appointment marks the third key management announcement by McKesson over the past month. Besides Tyler’s promotion announced in late August, McKesson last week named Stephen Courtman as president of Health Mart, the company’s drug store franchise network.
