American Pharmacies: Powering the Profession Through Leadership

Laird Leavoy is President of American Pharmacies, a member-owned purchasing cooperative for independent pharmacies with members across the nation. We spoke with Laird about his journey in mastering and sharing the principles of leadership and its vital role in the independent pharmacy community.

“Leadership is a foundation of my life,” said Leavoy. “Leadership’s all about the people around you. It’s the people around you being heard. It’s mutual respect.”

Laird has always held a leadership role throughout his professional career. He’s worked for over 35 years in the wholesale drug and pharmaceutical industry. His last position was with AmerisourceBergen (now Cencora) as the Vice President of Retail Pharmacy for the South Region before joining American Pharmacies in 2010. At that time, American Pharmacies was only in Texas with $400 million in sales. Today, they are in over 40 states with $2 billion in total revenue.

image credit: American Pharmacies

He joined Drug Topics to share his perspectives on leadership and how he demonstrates key leadership qualities in his daily work. From his strategies for recruiting top team members to his approach to communication with colleagues, Leavoy explained why leadership is a crucial quality not only for his organization but also for the pharmacy profession as a whole.