KPH Healthcare Services names new president and CEO to succeed Bridget-ann Hart
After 40 years with KPH Healthcare Services, Bridget-ann Hart is retiring as president and CEO at the end of 2019.
Hart will continue to serve on the KPH board of directors. Hart holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Services, where she has been named Distinguished Alumna and served three consecutive terms on its board of trustees. During her career, Hart has played a key role in the continuing diversification, growth, and rebranding of Kinney Drugs, a 116-year-old regional drugstore chain, as KPH Healthcare Services, which is now a national provider of health care services with 4,000+ employees across four divisions. In addition to the drug store division, KPH also encompasses a pharmacy benefits management company, a long-term care pharmacy, and a specialty pharmacy.
David Warner has been elected to assume the position of president and CEO effective Nov. 1, 2019. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Warner first joined Kinney Drugs as a pharmacy intern in Vermont. His 30+ year career has encompassed all four KPH divisions, beginning with retail operations, where he served in various leadership positions from staff pharmacist to regional pharmacy manager. He then gained experience in both technology and human resources management, first as vice president of pharmacy development and then as vice president of corporate development, both within Kinney Drugs. When named its president, Warner then took the pharmacy benefits management division from start-up to what is now the largest employee-owned PBM in the United States. Most recently, Warner served as executive vice president of commercial divisions for KPH. With direct oversight responsibility for all commercial divisions, he has been deeply involved in both specialty pharmacy and long-term care pharmacy in addition to the PBM business. In April of 2019, Warner was elected to the KPH Healthcare Services board of directors.
“On behalf of the KPH board and employees, I would like to recognize Bridget for her unconditional dedication, her exceptional leadership skills, and the many remarkable accomplishments our company has experienced under her direction. We have been very fortunate to have her as our CEO these last six years, and she will be missed. We are also extremely pleased to have Dave Warner step into her role. The breadth and depth of Dave’s experience – encompassing administration as well as all aspects of retail pharmacy, pharmacy benefits management, mail order pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, and long-term care pharmacy – will help KPH identify and take advantage of growth opportunities across our complementary businesses, and to discover and explore promising new opportunities. I would like to extend our thanks and best wishes to Bridget as she heads toward retirement and our congratulations to Dave as he begins this new chapter with the KPH family of companies,” said Craig Painter, KPH executive chairman.