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ARLINGTON, Va. — From September 23-25, more than 70 NACDS-member retailers and suppliers convened in Chicago, IL, for the NACDS Retail Advisory Board Market Immersion. NACDS officers — including NACDS Chair Kevin Host, senior vice president of pharmacy, Walmart; NACDS Vice Chair Rick Gates, senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer, Walgreen Co.; NACDS Treasurer Dave Warner, president and chief executive officer, KPH Healthcare Services, Inc.; and NACDS Past Chair Mike Wysong, chief executive officer, CARE Pharmacies — were in attendance.
Robust programming featured presentations by the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul; Kenya Merritt, Chicago Deputy Mayor of Business, Neighborhood and Economic Development; Tim Wentworth, chief executive officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; NACDS Vice Chair Rick Gates, senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer, Walgreen Co.; Tracey Brown, executive vice president and president, Walgreens retail and chief customer officer; Abi Subramanian, group vice president, customer marketing, loyalty and Walgreens advertising group; and Lisa Paley, president, North America, Haleon; as well as speakers from NielsenIQ, Circana, Accenture and Jones Lang LaSalle.
The timely discussions centered on topics including artificial intelligence, organized retail crime, reimbursement reform, real estate trends, retail media networks, innovation in retail and the state of wellness in the United States.
Additionally, Chicago Market Immersion attendees had the opportunity to visit with Accenture for a tour of the Gen AI Innovation Center and the Kearney PERLab — where they learned more about the power of design and redesign to enhance product lifecycle.
The event concluded on World Pharmacists Day, with a panel of 12 pharmacy students from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy discussing the future of the profession.
The NACDS Retail Advisory Board’s mission is to advise and deliver recommendations to the NACDS Board of Directors and NACDS staff team on timely industry issues affecting the broad NACDS membership, thereby promoting changes and enhancements that increase the value and relevance of NACDS to its members.
