Walgreens Chief Pharmacy Officer
As a highschooler, he needed to get to the only ice rink in
'She refused to drive in winter,' Gates says, although the time of day probably didn't help his case.
His dad worked as a police officer and couldn't give him a ride, so the solution was to drive himself. The catch? His mom said he had to chip in for car insurance.
So he looked for a job close to home, and the two nearest options were the local grocery store or the independent neighborhood pharmacy. He picked the pharmacy.
'I knew the pharmacist because I grew up going there. I explained to him the situation, he gave me a cashier job and that's how I got started,' Gates says. 'The best part of the story is that my illustrious hockey career ended when I graduated high school.'
Gates went to pharmacy school at the
'If you'd asked me when I was a pharmacist in the store, would I be a chief pharmacy officer of Walgreens? I didn't think it was even possible,' Gates says, laughing. But as opportunities came up, Gates kept saying yes, and then he'd say yes to the next challenge, and then the next one after that.
'I've always been a practitioner at heart, and I've wanted to impact where pharmacy's going,' Gates says. And that's exactly what he's planning to do as chief pharmacy officer.
What gets Gates going: Enabling pharmacists to give patients their best
In his new role, Gates is leading the strategy to create an ecosystem across all Walgreens pharmacies that best benefits pharmacists and their patients. His time working with health plans, pharmacy benefits managers, biopharmaceutical partners and health systems has highlighted the opportunities Walgreens has to support our partners and patients in more ways.
Gates is also working with
Walgreens leaders at HIV Testing event
'Dispensing is always going to be part of what we do, but where pharmacy needs to go is focusing more on patient health outcomes,' Gates says. 'And so what WBA CEO
He talked about the importance of giving pharmacists more time for patient care by utilizing micro-fulfillment centers, which are dedicated exclusively to filling prescriptions, as well as centralized services centers, which support pharmacies' inbound phone calls, data entry and data review.
'You have to take tasks off our team members' plates so they can deliver high quality-care,' Gates says. 'We're innovating in our infrastructure differently than anybody, which is going to set us apart from competitors. How we enable our pharmacists is going to be critical for us moving forward.'
Why Walgreens for 28 years
Gates has spent his entire career at Walgreens, officially 28 years in May. His first job after college was with Walgreens, working as a pharmacist in
'What I loved about Walgreens is I got to practice in varied settings to really understand the nuances of each community and to learn what got me most excited,' he says. 'From the pharmacy to the corporate office, they've always given me opportunities to grow.'
But the most important reason why he's stayed with the company for so long: the people.
'The people I've worked with have just been amazing, not only in the stores but in the support center, too,' Gates says. 'The people are what make this company special.'
What's in Rick Gates Walgreens Bag
He talked about some of his colleagues who have been with Walgreens for as long as he has. One is
'We've gone through this career journey together,' Gates says. 'It's been great to grow in your career with people you can inherently trust that will do the right thing for the profession, for Walgreens and for you individually.'
Giving back, giving time
At this point in his career, Gates says Walgreens has given him so much, he is driven to give back by supporting others, especially team members, who are looking for career advice or simply a listening ear.
'I want to try to help others as they're figuring out their career path, or working through issues and challenges,' he says.
One way he gives time is by being an active member and executive lead of WBA's Latino Professional Network business resource group. Working directly with the board chair
WBA Latino Professionals BRG
While he's giving more time to others these days, it's something he first learned the value of from the pharmacist who hired him at the pharmacy in
'There was something about how he cared for everybody that just resonated with me,' Gates says.
He eventually learned that initially, when he went to that pharmacy looking for work, Kiburz didn't even have an opening, but took him on anyway.
Given his career, Gates says his mother has no regrets about making him drive himself to early morning hockey practice and pony up for car insurance.
'To this day, my mom still says it was the right choice,' he says.
It turned out to be a great choice for Walgreens, too.
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