PALM BEACH, Fla. 鈥� As health care experiences its most significant transformation in a generation, the 2026 National Association of Chain 91短视频 Stores (NACDS) Annual Meeting opened with a clear call to action: Pharmacy and the Association are not simply responding to change 鈥� they are poised to lead it. During Sunday morning鈥檚 Business Program, NACDS leaders set the stage for the week ahead, highlighting the forces reshaping healthcare, the urgency of advancing key policy priorities, and the enduring strength of retailer鈥憇upplier collaboration.
NACDS board chair and chief pharmacy officer at Walgreens Rick Gates, alongside NACDS president and CEO Steven Anderson, welcomed attendees by anchoring the agenda in both the meaningful progress the industry has made and the ambitious work that still lies ahead.
The program also featured a keynote address from celebrated presidential historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin. In addition, Nathalie Gerschtein, CEO, U.S. and president, North America, Haleon, shared insights from her company鈥檚 perspective as a supplier partner. Haleon sponsored the Sunday Business Program, and Kenvue is sponsoring the Tuesday Business Program.
Central to Gates鈥� and Andersons鈥� remarks was the irreplaceable value of unity across retailers and suppliers 鈥� and the recognition that the industry moves furthest when it moves together.
Gates said, "When we talk about one voice, we mean the entire store. Front end, pharmacy, and omnichannel 鈥� working together. Because patients don't experience us in silos. They experience one destination. One promise." He added, "Let's continue to lead 鈥� and act 鈥� with one voice. Not just when it's easy. But especially when it's hard. Because alignment is what turns good ideas into real progress."
Both leaders reflected on a year defined by resilience and deliberate forward motion. Gates noted that the industry's focus had sharpened around three priorities 鈥� accelerating pharmacy modernization, elevating community pharmacy, and advancing unified advocacy 鈥� and pointed to tangible gains on each front.
Jeffrey Woldt
For NACDS鈥� part, Gates outlined two overarching priorities that are emerging from an ongoing strategic planning process. Gates stated, 鈥淥ne is shape the future of pharmacy to have a broader impact in the healthcare eco-system and two to strengthen member and associate value.鈥�
Gates described his overall approach to his term as NACDS chair, which led to this moment: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a busy year and we have made a deliberate choice in our approach. To listen differently. And to lead differently. When I stepped into this role, I made a commitment: to listen first. Not from a distance but directly from all of you. Not just board members but with supplier partners and operators at every scale. Beyond that, over those first 100 days, I ensured that the NACDS team spend time in stores, on calls, and in conversations with our frontline team members. We backed that up with data, surveys, working sessions, and direct input across the NACDS membership.鈥�
Anderson framed the moment by tracing the rhythms of transformation that have defined both the industry and NACDS over the past two decades 鈥� from operational discipline, to strategic focus, to the courage demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, to the transformation and acceleration now underway. To illustrate that pivotal chapter, he shared a television advertisement, produced by NACDS, titled 'RISE,' which aired just 20 days after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in 2020.
Anderson said, 鈥溾�橰ise' was not a slogan. It was conviction. We did not know how long the crisis would last. We did not know how severe it would become. But we knew who we were. And we knew what leadership required."
On the policy front, Anderson highlighted the recent passage of landmark federal PBM reforms as proof of what sustained focus and industry alignment can achieve 鈥� while making clear that the work is far from finished.
Looking ahead, Anderson challenged the industry to meet the moment with the same discipline, focus, and courage that has carried it through previous inflection points. "There are moments when industries and their trade associations are tested. And in those moments, both must rise together. We have risen before. And if we rise again 鈥� united, focused, disciplined 鈥� we will not simply adapt to the future. We will define it."
Gates closed with an equally forward-looking charge, calling on members to match optimism with action. "I know the challenges are real. But I also know this room moves outcomes when it moves together. When we build NACDS for the future 鈥� and when we continue to shape the headlines instead of chase them 鈥� that's when this industry reaches its full potential."
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