Cover Story: DSN’s 2021 Top Women in Health, Wellness & Beauty Winners

TOP OF THE CROP

DSN honors another crop of talented women helping grow and diversify the industry

For the third year running, the industry has no shortage of women who could be considered Top Women in Health, Wellness & Beauty. With more than 120 entrants, DSN this year whittled the list down to nearly 70 women across its three categories — Business Excellence, Rising Stars and Commitment to Care.

As part of the celebration, each of the winners was mailed an award and were invited to attend the virtual programming around the event, held in mid-October. The event featured a keynote from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and two days of panels with leading women retail executives discussing their careers and how to foster talent in the industry.

Read about the work these exceptional women do — whether they work with a retailer, supplier or service provider — to make the industry better and more inclusive in the following pages.

Business Excellence Winners

ALECIA LASHIER CHIEF SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT IA

The pillar of knowledge within the iA organization, Alecia Lashier is one of the founding creators of the pharmacy technology provider’s Symphony software, the “brains and functionality” of the PharmAssist Platform within the world of automated pharmaceuticals. Lashier is responsible for overseeing all technical execution and engineering at iA, a global solutions provider for the pharmacy ful llment industry. For more than 20 years she has taken a hands-on approach, working closely with industry and academia to advance technology solutions, especially in the eld of healthcare. She is frequently sought after to solve complex technology problems that reshape and improve healthcare globally.

AMY PLEASANT DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT, WALGREENS TEAM LEAD CROSSMARK

As leader of the retail support program for Crossmark at Walgreens, Amy Pleasant helps vendor partners succeed at the retailer while overseeing a team of ve national account managers and demand planners. Pleasant has been calling on Walgreens for 20 years, working with executives across internal divisional boundaries. Notably, Pleasant recently worked with Walgreens’ healthcare business owner to create a co-merchandising plan for a household division launch of a product that had healthcare bene ts. In support of a fragrance vendor partner, her team secured space in the trial/travel section with an item small enough to meet TSA guidelines.

ANGIE NELSON SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PHARMACY HY-VEE

Hy-Vee’s 275 retail pharmacies in eight states have made important updates over the years, thanks in no small part to Angie Nelson. Overseeing the team that implemented arti cial intelligence technology and machine learning models to improve patient adherence, she also oversaw the launch of prescription prepay and made prescription delivery available through DoorDash. In 2020, the retailer introduced drive-thru u shots, resulting in a record number of u shots administered that year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nelson helped roll out contact-free health-and-wellness services, including digital vaccination consent forms. Hy-Vee has administered the vaccine onsite as well as in long-term care facilities, Hy-Vee Healthy You Mobile units and pop-up sites.

APRIL COUDRIET DIRECTOR, CONSUMER PRODUCTS, STRATEGIC GLOBAL SOURCING AMERISOURCEBERGEN

As a director at AmerisourceBergen, April Coudriet leads a team of ve category managers who develop growth-focused strategies for categories within Health and Beauty and Over the Counter. With more than 16 years of category management experience at Rite Aid and AmerisourceBergen combined, Coudriet is now leveraging her expertise to drive growth within the independent pharmacy class of trade, in addition to the many other business channels AmerisourceBergen supports.

CANDICE ST. PIERRE VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES, TRADITIONAL MARKETS TWINLAB CONSOLIDATION

After joining Twinlab Consolidation in 2018 as director of sales and being promoted to vice president of sales in 2019, Candice St. Pierre took a nine-month leave of absence to work on her dissertation in industrial/organizational psychology. Her research focuses on leadership identity development and the use of executive coaching as a tool to help women advance their careers. At Twinlab, she is responsible for building and strengthening sales performance within the FDM, natural, specialty, e-tail and international channels. Over the past year she successfully navigated the bankruptcy of a top customer, renegotiated all vendor contracts, and implemented an extensive SKU reduction plan.

CINDY ORR EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER NO FADE FRESH

A chemist and businesswoman, Cindy Orr runs the day-to-day operations of No Fade Fresh and heads research and development for the company’s in-house laboratory. Orr, who earned a master’s degree in textile chemistry from Kansas State University, has in-depth knowledge of the necessary business practices and of the product formulation process. She launched No Fade Fresh to create hair colordeposit products that are vegan, gluten free and PETA-certi ed/ cruelty free, and free of harsh chemicals, PPD, parabens and mineral oil. Under her guidance, the company achieved growth to more than 6,500 stores in one year since the launch of the line.

COLLEEN LINDHOLZ PRESIDENT KROGER HEALTH

The healthcare arm of Kroger, Kroger Health has more than 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics in 35 states. Colleen Lindholz leads a team of more than 22,000 healthcare practitioners, including pharmacists, nurse practitioners, dietitians and technicians who provide health and wellness solutions to over 14 million customers each year. Lindholz is chair of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the recipient of Kroger’s Chairman’s Award, Kroger’s Leadership Award and Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery Rising Star Award. In 2019, Colleen was named one of EatingWell magazine’s “American Food Heroes” and one of Forbes’ “Powerful Women Shaping the Future of Food.”

DIANN BOTELHO VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES, COSTCO TEAM LEAD THE BOUNTIFUL COMPANY

Diann Botelho is a highly skilled and respected sales leader in the health-and-wellness space with over 30 years of experience in the CPG industry. Her experience spans across major supplement companies, such as The Bountiful Company and Pharmavite as well as Consumer Products Management and Longs Drug stores. She has been with The Bountiful Company, a Nestlé Health Science company and a pure play branded leader in global nutrition, for almost 10 years as vice president of customer development for the Costco Team. She has a proven track record for driving profitable growth and identifying customer centric solutions for both the customer and her company while focused on developing, mentoring and coaching others.

ELISA SLOSS VICE PRESIDENT, HEALTHMARKETS AND DIETITIANS HY-VEE

Hy-Vee’s 180 HealthMarkets are storewithin-a-store sections that feature organic and specialty foods. Elisa Sloss oversees all aspects of the HealthMarkets and leads Hy-Vee’s more than 70 registered dietitians across the company’s eight-state footprint. The dietitians annually lead more than 150,000 customers on store tours to help them find the foods and products to meet their specific dietary needs. During the pandemic Sloss implemented a virtual dietitian services platform. In the past year, she and her team launched a partnership with GNC to offer vitamins and dietary supplements, pre-packaged bulk food, and CBD products in stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.

HEATHER MANCHESTER NATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGER FOR WALGREENS HENKEL

Responsible for more than 70 SKUs from 10plus brands, Heather Manchester leads the development, execution and delivery of a comprehensive business strategy for Walgreens in the laundry/household, air care, cleaning and pesticides categories. Manchester manages Henkel and SUN brands at approximately 9,000 Walgreens stores, and manages and maintains the Walgreens.com digital shelf and its expanded portfolio. In January 2021, she executed a strategic month-long promotion at a time when retailer foot-traffic was down due to the pandemic. The promotion generated the highest POS since the beginning of the pandemic (outside of the March 2020 panic buying) with a large portion of the sales coming in through the retailer website.

HEIDI POLEK STRATEGIC PROGRAM MANAGER DRFIRST

A pharmacist with more than 30 years of experience in the retail pharmacy sector, pharmaceutical industry, and healthcare technology market, Heidi Polek is a clinical subject matter expert, providing industry and clinical insights that enhance product design and user experience. Polek also provides sales development support across multiple product teams, plus program and account management for pharmacy-related projects and clients. She is a sought-after speaker at industry events and in media coverage, speaking about medication adherence, telehealth, technology and the pharmacy workflow, and other topics. She is an active member of the American Pharmacists Association.

JONI RAMPOLLA REGIONAL NUTRITION SPECIALIST THE GIANT COMPANY

With a belief that personal health begins with the shopping cart, Joni Rampolla promotes choosing nourishing, healing, exciting food combinations. The registered dietitian and board certified specialist in obesity and weight management leverages nutritious foods for improved outcomes and connects customers to nutrition and wellness knowledge to build shopper confidence and loyalty. Rampolla joined The Giant Company in 2016 as an in-store nutritionist. In 2018 she became a regional nutrition specialist covering communities across South Central Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. She is state coordinator for the Maryland Vegetarian Dietetic Practice Group, where she encourages all Marylanders to eat more plantbased food items.

KAITLYN DENOPOULOS SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT - CVS TEAM LEAD THE BOUNTIFUL COMPANY

A high performer within The Bountiful Company, Kaitlyn Denopoulos is a trusted partner who adds extreme value to the customer, CVS Health. Denopoulos consistently exceeds expectations above and beyond the scope of her current role, and has an established track record for success. She proactively seeks out new opportunities to broaden skills and experiences, and she achieved the highest SKU count in 2020 at CVS Health across The Bountiful Company’s portfolio. She is very involved with the CVS Health Charity Classic and its events to raise money for charities across Southern New England.

KATHY LEONARD DIRECTOR OF RETAIL PHARMACY OPERATIONS PUBLIX

In addition to ensuring effective and efficient retail pharmacy operations across Publix’s seven-state operating area, Kathy Leonard is responsible for directing, coaching and mentoring pharmacy operations managers and administrative associates. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she quickly led her associates through heightened safety processes and procedures that allowed Publix pharmacies to continue smooth operation. When the flu season began, she initiated an all-in approach to immunization services, resulting in Publix achieving record-breaking success on total flu shots. Later she spearheaded the implementation of a historical COVID-19 vaccination program. In 2020, she received Publix’s George W. Jenkins award.

KATIE SCANLON SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PHARMACY ADMINISTRATION PUBLIX

Katie Scanlon develops strategy and ensures execution of all departments within the pharmacy administration department including procurement, managed care, central and specialty pharmacy, technology, data and analytics and clinical services. To prepare Publix for COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Scanlon and her team worked with IT and marketing to bolster the digital reservation system; trained pharmacies on receiving, handling and administering the vaccine; coordinated logistics with the pharmacy warehouse; worked with government relations; and developed appointment schedules for more than 900 pharmacies across three states. Publix pharmacies began vaccinating in stores on January 7, 2021 and have administered more than one million total vaccinations.

KIM ROWE CATEGORY MANAGER WEIS MARKETS

At Weis Markets, Kim Rowe is the category manager for OTC, health care and baby care. Rowe has been with Weis for more than 30 years. She brings constant innovation to the categories she oversees.

KRISTIN WILLIAMS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF HEALTH OFFICER HY-VEE PRESIDENT AMBER SPECIALTY PHARMACY/ HY-VEE PHARMACY SOLUTIONS

An influential and strategic thought leader, Kristin Williams oversees more than 275 retail pharmacies across eight Midwestern states and 21 specialty pharmacies across the country. Williams has overseen Hy-Vee’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout since December 2020 when the retailer received its first allocation of the vaccine. She is an advocate and champion of pharmacies and has been integral in expanding pharmacists’ role within their communities. Under her direction, the company is expanding its current fleet of nine Hy-Vee Healthy You Mobiles in rural communities, and Hy-Vee pharmacists are using artificial intelligence to identify patients at greater risk of not being adherent with their medications.

LEIGH SHIRLEY DIRECTOR OF PHARMACY OPERATION THE GIANT COMPANY

With 27 years of experience in various roles in The Giant Company’s pharmacy department, Leigh Shirley is responsible for the sales, operations and financial profitability of the 132 Giant and Martin’s Food Market pharmacy departments located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. She challenges herself and her team to provide a high level of service and convenience to The Giant Company’s customers by adding services such as diabetes care and point of care testing and providing immunizations. She took the lead in preparing the response of the pharmacy department as part of The Giant Company’s overall crisis task force.

LITTHYA BURGIN MANAGER, SHOPPER INSIGHTS FOR THE RESPIRATORY CATEGORY GSK CONSUMER HEALTHCARE

Key customers of GSK Consumer Healthcare rely on Litthya Burgin for her expertise on the respiratory category shopper. Burgin manages all shopper insights activities

for the category, which encompasses brands including Theraflu, Robitussin, Advil Respiratory, and Flonase. Her responsibilities include budgeting, leading research initiatives, vendor partnerships and general alignment across her marketing and sales key stakeholder groups. She develops robust category leadership platforms that outline key strategies to drive growth within the category to engage shoppers. At GSK Consumer Healthcare she is a member of the company’s diversity and inclusion team, representing the sales organization, as well as a member of several in-house employee resource groups.

MARY VAN PRAAG CEO MILANI COSMETICS

Joining Milani during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Mary van Praag has built a high-performing team of strong leaders and created a culture of excellence, transparency and accountability. Having grown her career via roles with Chico’s FAS, Perricone MD, Coty Beauty and OPI Products, van Praag aims to make her leadership inclusive while maintaining a results-oriented and peoplecentric leadership style that energizes and challenges her colleagues. She is an active member of many boards and mentorship programs, including Women in Retail Leadership.

MICHELLE NILSSON NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR BAUSCH + LOMB

For more than a decade, Michelle Nilsson has been a significant contributor to the Bausch + Lomb business by consistently increasing company value and delivering business results. Nilsson is responsible for business development, joint business planning and marketing execution with all national and regional food, retail and e-commerce customers. Known as a passionate and dedicated leader, she continuously seeks innovative solutions for her team and customers. As a result of her ongoing dedication and success, she has been recognized with several awards for her outstanding work and partnerships with customers.

NIKI SIMONEAUX VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND SALES, EMERGING MARKETS TWINLAB CONSOLIDATED

A 15-year veteran of Twinlab Consolidation, Niki Simoneaux heads the marketing team and is responsible for the marketing budget for the company’s Twinlab, Reserveage Nutrition, Metabolife and ResVitale brands. Simoneaux spearheaded three consumer studies to guide the repositioning of the top three portfolio brands, Twinlab, Reserveage and ResVitale. As head of sales for emerging markets, she is responsible for setting and executing channel strategies for Amazon and direct to consumer sales. She is a member of the TCC executive team and a material contributor to overall company turnaround and growth strategies across all verticals.

PEGGY TOMES SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, AUDITING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE AMBER SPECIALTY PHARMACY, A HY-VEE SUBSIDIARY

For more than 22 years, Tomes has helped shape some of the most vital elements of Amber Specialty Pharmacy and patient care strategies. Tomes oversees pharmacy practices and functions governed by Medicare and other federal and state programs. She uses her depth of knowledge to help create policies and procedures that align with the complex nuances of these programs. Her work helps to protect the pharmacy from monetary risks through routine and standard audits. A loyal leader in the company, she has witnessed its growth from one pharmacy, serving only a handful of patients, to now operating 21 locations.

TRACY ROBERTS TEAM LEAD, SHOPPER AND CATEGORY INSIGHTS FOR WALGREENS GSK CONSUMER HEALTHCARE

Among Tracy Roberts’ skills is her ability to develop a learning plan, rally her team and activate its findings for a robust strategic initiative. Roberts, who has been with GSK Consumer Healthcare for 11 years, is responsible for leading her team to develop category and shopper strategy and solutions using key shopper insights to support Walgreens and GSK. She was recently awarded GSK’s “Innovation, Performance and Trust” award for recognition from Walgreens and significant contribution to their store formats initiative ,as well as driving shopper-led merchandising changes across multiple health, wellness and personal care categories in response to the dynamic COVID-19 environment.

YAMIT SADOK SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MARKETING TWINLAB CONSOLIDATION

As senior director of marketing, Yamit Sadok holds a hybrid sales and marketing role across Twinlab Consolidation Corporation’s family of brands, which are Twinlab, Reserveage Nutrition, Metabolife and ResVitale. Sadok is accountable for product line profitability and leading innovation from ideation through launch. She joined Reserveage Nutrition in October of 2014 and was a major driving force in the explosive growth in the year prior to its acquisition by Twinlab in late 2015. She led the launch of nearly two dozen new products, most recently spearheaded the rollout of the Reserveage skin care line.

AMY REIBRICH MARKETING LEAD FOR U.S. SHOPPER ENGAGEMENT AND SCALE GSK CONSUMER HEALTHCARE

A champion of diversity and inclusion, Amy Reibrich works with retail partners to create programs like the award-winning Tums “All are Welcome” campaign highlighting inclusivity and cultural relevancy during the holidays, a key consumption period for the brand and participating retailers. Reibrich and her team of shopper and scale marketing experts work nationally with GSK’s key retail partners. She is responsible for delivering breakthrough activation across the portfolio of brands encompassing oral health, wellness, pain, upper respiratory health and digestive health. She created datadriven partnerships with pharmacies to help drive year-one penetration and sales of the Rx-to-OTC launch of Voltaren.

BRENDA CAPOBIANCO SENIOR PRINCIPAL, SUPPLIER SERVICES IQVIA

At IQVIA, Brenda Capobianco works with her team to help deliver products and analysis that help clients better understand their performance in the retail pharmacy market. Capobianco works with all levels of the team to encourage them to perform to their highest level. She uses her influence within the organization to get her team the additional resources needed to deliver better analytical products. She listens to clients and determines how IQVIA can best provide the data analysis product that helps them meet their business needs. She impacts the pharmacy space by helping retail pharmacy understand the marketplace.

BRITTANY HOLMGREN SENIOR CATEGORY MANAGER OF VITAMINS AND DIET WALGREENS

With the task of growing the vitamins and diet category at Walgreens, Brittany Holmgren’s responsibilities include budget oversight, selection of innovation and growing sales in the VMS category. Holmgren joined Walgreens in 2011 as a merchandising analyst, where she participated in a twoyear rotational program through Walgreen’s merchandising team, merchandise planning, promotional planning and visual merchandising. She has been a category manager for coughcold, diabetes and first aid.

ELYSE DICKERSON CEO AND CO-FOUNDER EOSERA

With more than two decades of experience leading teams in the health care and pharmaceutical industries, Elyse Dickerson oversees her staff; manages finances; oversees all projects and product ventures; maintains relationships with retailers, buyers and brokers; and aids in product development, manufacturing, marketing, quality and distribution. Last year, Dickerson led a drive to collect feminine care products for women who could not afford them due to jobs lost from COVID-19. Prior to founding Eosera, she built popular eye care brands across the globe.

GINA CORRIVEAU DIRECTOR OF COSMETICS CVS HEALTH

With more than 17 years of industry experience, Gina Corriveau is a performance driven leader with a demonstrated career of delivering exceptional results. Corriveau is skilled in fostering relationships with both the vendor community and her cross functional teams to deliver on company values. She came to CVS Pharmacy over 14 years ago as a frontstore planner with a strong financial background, and has managed multiple categories within beauty and personal care business units. Her primary focus has always been to deliver an assortment that meets the needs of the customer while partnering with brands that promote diversity and innovation in the industry.

JENNIFER ILACQUA SENIOR DIRECTOR, HEAD OF NORTH AMERICAN MARKETING I-HEALTH, A DIVISION OF DSM

A proven leader in marketing, Jennifer Ilacqua began with i-Health as a strategic brand and marketing consultant and was promoted after little more than a year to the role of marketing director for the company’s women’s health and aging products. In the next two years she rose to the lead marketing position in North America. She develops, implements and oversees the North American strategic marketing plan while tying the plan to i-Health Global brand strategy. Previously she was with Colgate-Palmolive, where she won the Chairman’s Award.

JENNIFER ROUSH CATEGORY MANAGER AMERISOURCEBERGEN (PREVIOUSLY WITH RITE AID)

At Rite Aid, Jennifer Roush won Category Manager of the Year several times. Roush worked with the vendor community and shared her vast knowledge in the multiple categories she managed at the retailer. With more than 25 years’ experience at the retailer, she succeeded in attaining sales, margin and income goals by partnering with vendors to supply high-quality merchandise to fit both the store and customer needs. She was nominated for the DSN Top Women 2021 Award for her work at Rite Aid, and in August moved into a new role as category manager at AmerisourceBergen.

JESSICA HEITZ VICE PRESIDENT OF BRAND AND MARKETING OLLY

After earning her MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Jessica Heitz worked at Clorox in base business, innovation and sales planning roles. With the desire to build a brand from the ground up, Heitz joined Olly in its infancy and has been one of the driving forces behind the brand’s rapid growth and its company culture. Her strategic thinking, tactical expertise and people management skills have been instrumental in scaling revenue 10 times over a five-year horizon and building a high performing team of more than 20 people.

JILL STEFFEN NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR BAUSCH + LOMB

With nearly 25 years of industry experience, Jill Steffen is a performance-driven sales leader with a career record of exceptional achievement. After receiving her master’s degree in organizational behavior, Steffen made a career shift from registered dietitian in the healthcare industry to management in the CPG sales/category space with Mead Johnson Nutritionals. Following that, Steffen worked for Crayola, then Energizer Personal Care and Galderma, her responsibility escalating with every role. She joined Bausch + Lomb as an associate director and is now a national sales director, responsible for overseeing retail partnerships in all classes of trade.

JULIE BONNELL VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS HRG

With a fine arts background and business acumen, Julie Bonnell has expertise in problem solving. Bonnell joined Hamacher Resource Group as a graphics coordinator and over the years moved into operations roles. She can envision the end solution while also grasping all the details needed to make it happen, a skill that is especially useful as the retail landscape and the need for data has rapidly changed. She plays a critical role on the HRG product development team and is on the senior leadership team that sets the direction and creates the budget and business plan for HRG each year.

MEGAN FAY VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOR HAIR CARE MAESA

Meghan Fay is responsible for growing Maesa’s hair care business in the United States through innovation and continuous marketing efforts on established brands. Maesa is a beauty products incubator that designs and manufactures exclusive brands and private label brands for mass, drug and specialty retailers. Hair care is the largest growth driver for Maesa, with affordable luxury brand Kristen Ess, Hairitage by Mindy McKnight, who is a YouTube mom influencer, and TPH by Taraji from Taraji P. Henson.

MELINDA RUBIN PRESIDENT AND OWNER GARCOA LABORATORIES

Since 1983, Garcoa Laboratories has provided personal care products including skin, hair, body, baby and OTC topical treatments. Melinda Rubin started and built the family-owned business, which operates manufacturing and distribution sites in the United States and Canada. Garcoa has supplied private and controlled labels as well as contracted manufacturing for some of the largest and most prestigious brands in the U.S.

NICOLE BOURDEAU SENIOR DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL MARKETING I-HEALTH, A DIVISION OF DSM

During the nearly 10 years she has been with i-Health, Nicole Bourdeau has driven significant growth on each brand she has managed. Bourdeau leads microbiome and peak performance health brands, which include the probiotic supplement brand Culturelle, the probiotics brand UP4 and microbiome nutrient Holigos IBS Restore. She manages innovation and budgets, and has been promoted quickly due to her marketing expertise and her ability to work with sales, operations and other groups.

ROBIN PAGE VICE PRESIDENT OF PHARMACY RETAIL OPERATIONS MCKESSON

Outside of Robin Page’s primary responsibilities at McKesson, she assumed additional responsibilities in response to COVID-19 pandemic. She assisted her Northeast region’s independently owned Health Mart franchise pharmacies at COVID-19 patient test collection sites and in partnership with state and federal programs providing the COVID-19 vaccines at their pharmacies. Page served as advisor, consultant and business coach throughout setting up the COVID-19 testing site and the authorized federal vaccine pharmacy location. She earned her pharmacy degree at the University of Connecticut and has more than 30 years in retail and independent pharmacy.

OTHER WINNERS

Katie Finnegan, chief e-commerce and customer experience officer, Rite Aid

Roxanne Schwans, senior vice president, market access and pharmacy purchasing, Rite Aid

RISING STARS WINNERS

ERNA MESIC DIRECTOR OF DIAGNOSTIC TESTING WALGREENS

During the pandemic, Erna Mesic developed the operating model for drive-thru COVID-19 testing, onboarded three different testing partners, opened 7,000 Walgreens testing sites and delivered 8 million COVID-19 tests. Mesic, who joined Walgreens as a pharmacy technician 15 years ago, works with state departments of health to customize testing solutions. She oversees the revenue cycle of diagnostic testing to ensure accurate and compliant billing practices. She worked on K-12 school testing and with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure Walgreens expanded testing sites into areas of high social vulnerability.

JENA HINSPETER NATIONAL ACCOUNT MANAGER FOR CVS HEALTH COCA-COLA

A system-wide expert on strategy, business systems and operating philosophy, Jena Hinspeter leads the Coca-Cola field integration and warehouse relationships at CVS Health corporate. She leads and manages the CVS Health/Coca-Cola partnership across 8,200 stores in 49 states and coordinates all field operations across 51 bottler ownerships. A proactive leader, Hinspeter focuses on generating solutions. She thinks through the lens of “what is possible” and generates key learnings from every project she manages. She received the Top Performer Award in 2017 from parent company Coca-Cola North America.

KELLI WYANT SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PHARMACY OPERATIONS AMBER SPECIALTY PHARMACY, A HY-VEE SUBSIDIARY

In late 2020, Amber Specialty Pharmacy was named Specialty Pharmacy of the Year by the National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP), and Kelli Wyant’s leadership in providing consistent, high-quality and personalized care to patients was integral in this achievement. Wyant is responsible for the daily oversight of all 21 Amber Specialty Pharmacy locations, and manages operations and workflow that are essential to getting patients started with medication therapy. She also oversees the organization’s state-of-the-art call center and ensures patients receive pertinent information quickly and accurately. In 2020, she received internal recognition with the Spirit of Hy-Vee award.

KIMBERLY HOWLAND HEAD OF ENLIVENHEALTH PRODUCT MANAGEMENT ENLIVENHEALTH, A DIVISION OF OMNICELL

An innovator and leader in healthcare technology, Kimberly Howland has played crucial roles in launching major new products at Omnicell. In early 2020, Howland took over the product management job for Omnicell division EnlivenHealth, and she works closely with customers to develop the road map for current products and new solutions. It is her vision, innovation and deep industry understanding that fuels EnlivenHealth’s growing influence as a leading technology solutions provider for the retail pharmacy and health plan industries. She is a mentor and recognized thought leader in the emerging digital and SaaS pharmacy technology sector.

LAUREN WITTENBERG SENIOR MANAGER, GLOBAL E-COMMERCE I-HEALTH

Lauren Wittenberg is actively leading i-Health’s advancement within e-commerce, particularly with traditional brick and mortar accounts, ensuring that consumers have access to i-Health’s products no matter how or when they choose to shop. Wittenberg is a passionate connector and coach who effectively builds relationships to drive change within the company, with customers and within the industry. She demonstrates her leadership and drive for results every day in her role. She serves as board chair for the Next Gen group within WE, Empowering Women to Advance Wellness.

MARIA SALGADO DIRECTOR OF SALES AT NATURAL CHANNEL TWINLAB CONSOLIDATION

Since starting at Twinlab Consolidation in 2014, Maria Salgado’s sales knowledge and customer service prowess helped her quickly progress from customer service to an internal sales role. Salgado’s proficiency in the sales process and strategy has brought success to natural retailers, as she finds new ways to engage broker partners, distribution partners and retail customers to reach sales goals and improve productivity. In one year, she was able to increase warehouse efficiencies in distribution by minimizing the total number of “ship-to” points from 683 to nine and restructured the company’s sales force to bring exceptional sales results.

REBECCA BEMRICH SENIOR CUSTOMER MARKETING MANAGER COCA-COLA

Walgreens is a high-priority retail customer for Coca-Cola, and Rebecca Bemrich serves as the omnichannel marketing lead for the Coca-Cola-Walgreens customer team. Bemrich leads long-term strategic planning and annual marketing planning to bring the portfolio of Coca-Cola products to life with Walgreens and their customers. She collaborates with key stakeholders internally and with the customer to create a marketing plan to drive category growth for the customer and key brands, including Coke, Diet Coke, smartwater, vitaminwater, Gold Peak, Dasani and more. She created a Hydration platform to capture new shopper occasions among consumers who are shopping Walgreens for Health and Wellness needs.

ROSE DRAKE TEAM LEAD, SHOPPER AND CATEGORY INSIGHTS, FOOD/ VALUE CHANNELS GSK CONSUMER HEALTHCARE

Rose Drake is a talented insights partner with her customer, coach for her team, and key driver of culture withing the organization. Drake is responsible for leading her team and developing category captaincies, category/shopper strategies and solutions using key shopper insights to support the food and value channels within GSK. In addition to her leadership skills and proficiency in the customer dynamics, she has a great ability to focus on key actionable insights and reach conclusions quickly. She helps strategy decision makers for her accounts’ OTC categories, and influences internal constituents on marketplace trends, insights and customer demands.

DR. FLORA STAY PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER CLEURE

A practicing dentist, Dr. Flora Stay recognized that many of the ingredients found in everyday products were causing health problems in children and adults, so she set out to develop products that were safe, effective and free of irritants as noted by the American Dermatological Society. She created the 100% clean and pure personal care products brand, Cleure. Today, Cleure is recognized as a leading provider of safe, clean products by dermatologists and patients worldwide. Stay oversees all product development, R&D, ingredient selection, and packaging, and leads the marketing, sales and operations teams. Cleure has developed 35 products, sourcing all ingredients in the United States

JAMIE JOHNSON CATEGORY MANAGER CVS HEALTH

With more than 15 years of retail leadership experience, including finance, retail insights, and store leadership, Jamie Johnson continues to bring innovation to the retail landscape as the category manager of cosmetics for CVS Health. Johnson is passionate about the creativity that beauty offers through its everchanging trends and vibrant colors, and appreciates the financial aspect of the industry, leveraging the knowledge she gained while earning her MBA. As an avid traveler, she finds global inspiration that fuels both her personal and professional life.

KILENE KNITTER REGIONAL NUTRITION SPECIALIST THE GIANT COMPANY

Since joining The Giant Company in 2017, Kilene Knitter has educated more than 27,000 customers through 700 classes and events both in-store and in the community. Knitter provides virtual nutrition classes, consultations, media appearances, and in-store events, activations, and samples. She collaborates with community partners such as libraries, senior centers, YMCAs, and businesses for health-related events and nutrition education presentations. In 2018, she was awarded the “Serving Up Healthy Habits” award from Down the Line and Beyond Foundation, a nonprofit that organizes free tennis, education, and character development programs for 1,000 children in underserved areas in Philadelphia.

KIMBERLY STIELE FOUNDER ITSPRAY

In 2018, CPG executive and mother Kimberly Stiele founded itSpray by Benesprays to provide innovative alternatives for better health that outperform traditional pills, powders, and gummies. The sublingual sprays are made with natural vitamins, herbs, minerals and amino acids and are non-GMO, gluten-free, sugar-free, and vegan. Today Stiele manages all aspects of the business, overseeing sales, marketing, operations, and logistics. She directly handles all business and communication with third party labs, manages orders, confirmations, packing and shipping, and oversees a growing team, working hard to ensure the right people are in the right roles.

KRISTI TAKAGISHI CATEGORY MANAGER FOR ORAL CARE WALGREENS

Throughout her tenure at Walgreens, Kristi Takagishi has worked in partnership with suppliers to deliver results, bring in innovative solutions and drive an environment of collaborative planning that results in productive partnerships. Takagishi started at Walgreens as a pricing analyst in 2004 and is now responsible for the P&L for the oral care department. She provides customer-focused strategic development to drive profitable sales and market share growth. She manages new item selection, promotion, pricing and display merchandising, and is also responsible for private brand development and promotions to drive customer loyalty.

MANDY JOHNSON ASSOCIATE CATEGORY MANAGER FOR BATH, HAIR CARE, HAIR COLOR, HAIR ACCESSORIES RITE AID

A creative, hands-on, collaborative, action-oriented category manager, Mandy Johnson is responsible for sales, profits and market share growth strategies. This includes all promotion planning, assortment decisions, P&L management and the development of long-term growth pillars to accelerate growth at Rite Aid. Johnson influences executions in all stores across the U.S., manages category P&Ls as well as steering all future corporate investments in merchandising and space allocation. Colleagues say she knows her stores and customers, and is always willing to jump in and help drive projects to completion.

MUFFY CLINCE DIRECTOR OF EMERGING BRANDS ULTA BEAUTY

From working through system implementations to planning process development to building out Ulta Beauty’s prestige brand base and boutique businesses, Clince makes projects happen. She began with Ulta Beauty on the professional hair/nail and personal care appliances team, and later joined the prestige cosmetics team. Now Clince oversees all new brand scouting for Ulta Beauty as well as the merchandising and marketing support for emerging brands entering the retailer. In addition, she supports career presentations for Columbia College in Chicago, the University of Illinois and her local Naperville School District, sharing insights on retail careers.

TAM TRAN CEO AND FOUNDER ANISE COSMETICS

Tam Tran oversees all national and global operations of Anise Cosmetics and all its international brands including Nail-Aid, Vegan Pure and Anise. The company does not use animalderived ingredients and stands against animal testing. In 2005, it was one of the first beauty companies to receive the Trailblazer Award from PETA. Under Tran’s leadership the company makes the health of women a top priority, and does not use toxic chemicals in any products. She also made sure the company’s workforce is a diverse one. Nail-Aid products are available in 10,000 retail locations, including Walmart.

TRACY ALLEN SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SPACE MANAGEMENT WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE

Tracy Allen leads the space management division of Walgreens and is responsible for leading all aspects of the retailer’s front of store space strategy and execution. Allen’s division has multiple functions and works collaboratively with merchandising, operations and customer insights functions. Space management covers all aspects of retail including health and wellness, beauty, and convenience. She also leads the planogram development, capabilities and training, macro space, and advanced analytics functions within the space management organization. The engagement scores for her team are the highest in the division.

OTHER RISING STARS WINNERS: Anne Marie Cantrell, category manager, Walgreens Laken Bush, registered district manager, Walgreens Ashley Skokan, communications manager, Hy-Vee Katie Barthelmas, senior marketing manager, Cardinal Health Meredith Larson, divisional merchandise manager e-commerce, Ulta Beauty

COMMITTED TO CARE WINNERS

DONNA MONTEMAYOR SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PHARMACY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, MARKETING AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES H-E-B

A 30-year H-E-B partner, Donna Montemayor began her career as a staff pharmacist. Over the years she has worked in training, recruiting, supply chain, procurement, technology and operations. Montemayor is a board member of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, and in 2018 was awarded the William J. Sheffield Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Texas College of Pharmacy. At H-E-B, she oversees clinical programs including immunizations, health screenings, medication therapy management and health education. She also manages marketing and advertising for the pharmacy department, specialty pharmacy, compounding pharmacy strategy, pharmacy store layout and equipment.

GRACE FISHER REGIONAL PHARMACY MANAGER THE GIANT COMPANY

As the COVID-19 pandemic intensified last year, The Giant Company pharmacy operations quickly shifted to enable safer delivery of prescriptions via mail order, curbside pickup

and early morning pharmacy hours. Drive-up clinics were implemented to provide u shots and eventually COVID-19 vaccines. Grace Fisher, who oversees the pharmacy teams in three districts, managed the signi cant preparation and coordination required to implement these measures. Over the 13 years she has been regional pharmacy manager, she has spent time getting to know pharmacists on a personal level. She is also a CPR instructor and certi es pharmacists to be able to help their patients in emergency situations.

LYDIA BAILEY PHARMACY OPERATIONS MANAGER ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CHARITABLE PHARMACY

In 2020 the St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy in Southwest Ohio lled more than 73,000 prescriptions, at no cost, for 1,307 patients. Dr. Lydia Bailey oversees the pharmacy’s clinical services and is responsible for procuring donated medications and volunteer labor. Dr. Bailey provides experiential education for hundreds of volunteer pharmacy technicians, residents, interns and pharmacists each year. She serves as the site coordinator for the pharmacy’s residency program through the University of Cincinnati. Faced with sta limits during the pharmacy’s COVID-19 vaccination response, she rallied the volunteer labor necessary to administer the vaccine to over 700 patients and community members.

MARY LOU NOTARO STRATEGIC PROGRAM MANAGER DRFIRST

At the healthcare technology solutions provider DrFirst, Mary Lou Notaro collaborates with teams throughout the organization but focuses much of her time working with the Backline so ware product team, which develops DrFirst’s care collaboration and communication platform. Notaro’s professional experience includes leadership and front-line positions in many areas of practice, including community, managed care, medication therapy management, longterm care and specialty pharmacy. She still occasionally practices in her family-owned pharmacies, where she has implemented programs in diabetes management, patient safety and medication adherence. She helped roll out COVID-19 vaccinations to her upstate New York community.

ANN COSTANZA CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER CONTRACT PHARMACAL

As chief administrative o cer at Contract Pharmacal and the only woman in the company’s c-suite, Ann Costanza provides leadership not only to her direct reports but to many non-direct relationships as well. Costanza is a subject matter expert in many areas within the company and in the contract manufacturing industry and the healthcare space. Her reach is global, as the company’s healthcare products are provided throughout the world. She was one of the key drivers in turning the smaller contract supplier into one of the largest in the industry, and she is responsible for bringing thousands of products for branded manufacturers and retail partners to commercialized standing.

JASMINA BJEGOVIC MANAGER OF PHARMACY AND RETAIL OPERATIONS WALGREENS

In just 10 days, Jasmina Bjegovic developed a program to train a pilot group of pharmacists to safely administer nasopharyngeal COVID-19 testing kits at one store in their parking lot. Today, Bjegovic leads the Walgreens COVID-19 testing program, and the company has thousands of team members trained on this program. She also led the coordination of training thousands of pharmacists in Walgreens’ immunization programs. Colleagues say in all the pharmacist positions say in all the pharmacist positions she has held, including specialty pharmacy, the Walgreens clinical o ce, and Walgreens clinical o ce, and pharmacy operations, she has pharmacy operations, she has transformed the business with her transformed the business with her exceptional attention to detail. exceptional attention to detail.

SAMANTHA HOYE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, WORTHINGTON INDUSTRIES MANAGER, WORTHINGTON INDUSTRIES (PREVIOUSLY VICE PRESIDENT (PREVIOUSLY VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING STRATEGY OF MARKETING STRATEGY TRANSFORMATION AND EXECUTION, TRANSFORMATION AND EXECUTION, CARDINAL HEALTH)

Samantha Hoye was nominated for her work Samantha Hoye was nominated for her work at Cardinal Health, where she led e-commerce, at Cardinal Health, where she led e-commerce, pharmacy clinical and business program pharmacy clinical and business program development, strategy and execution, driving development, strategy and execution, driving additional value for the pharmacy customers the additional value for the pharmacy customers the company serves every day. Hoye championed company serves every day. Hoye championed innovative solutions and overall marketing innovative solutions and overall marketing strategies for the pharmaceutical division. In strategies for the pharmaceutical division. In September she moved to a new role at the September she moved to a new role at the global industrial manufacturing company global industrial manufacturing company Worthington Industries.