DAVID NEU NAMED BOC CHAIR

Neu Leadership

I got really clear that, in this new stage of my life, it was important for me to take what was a wonderful career and use it for the betterment of the community.”

David W. Neu, co-founder of the Neu Family Foundation David W. Neu, co-founder of the Neu Family Foundation and former president of AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. and Good Neighbor Pharmacy, was appointed chair of the USC School of Pharmacy Board of Councilors in November. He continues to head the steering committee for the school’s new South L.A. Pharmacy (see cover story on page 10).

“This is a labor of love for me,” Neu says. “I feel so blessed that at this stage of my life and career, I get to do something like this with arguably one of the top pharmacy schools—if not the top school—in the country.”

Currently the executive chairman of Ananda Health, Neu joined the Board of Councilors in 2018. He also serves on the Advisory Council for the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center as well as the National Cancer Institute. He previously was a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Chain Drugs and is the former chair of what is now the Healthcare Distribution Alliance.

He and his wife, Esperanza, co-founded the Neu Family Foundation in 2010 to support causes related to health and education. They have partnered with several universities to establish scholarships for students in need. In 2017, they worked closely with Jefferson Health and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia to establish the Neu Center for Supportive Medicine and Cancer Survivorship. He has also served on several nonprofit boards committed to education, social causes and human rights.

While the Neus initially planned to travel after they retired from AmerisourceBergen, they found a second calling. “I was diagnosed with head and neck cancer two months after we retired,” he says. “That was six years ago.” During his treatment and recovery, he explains, “I got really clear that, in this new stage of my life, it was important for me to take what was a wonderful career and use it for the betterment of the community.”

Of the school’s Board of Councilors, Neu says: “I look forward to working with this highly engaged and committed group of professionals. Together, we will dedicate our time and resources to improving the lives of people in our community and transforming the future of pharmacy.”

Neu succeeds longtime board leader William A. Heeres, PharmD ’63, who will continue to serve on the board while taking on an advisory position with the newly formed USC Titus Center for Medication Safety and Population Health.

Neu got his start in the pharmaceutical industry in the 1980s when he joined AmerisourceBergen as a Southern California sales rep. Covering a wide territory that included pharmacies from Brentwood to South L.A., he saw firsthand the different challenges each neighborhood faced. He also got to know many USC faculty members and alumni.

By the time he was promoted to president of AmerisourceBergen at age 53, he had been with the company for 29 years. While he moved up the leadership ladder, he says he never forgot the pivotal experience of working on the front lines with community pharmacists—experience he will leverage as he leads the effort to create the South L.A. Pharmacy.

“David’s involvement in the community demonstrates what a valuable asset he will be to our board; he will be a critical voice as the board moves forward on a variety of initiatives, including the new South L.A. Pharmacy,” Dean Vassilios Papadopoulos says. “The School of Pharmacy is grateful to both David Neu and William Heeres for their dedication and commitment to the university and to the school.”