McKesson SVP public affairs announces retirement following storied career

ORLANDO, Fla. - McKesson's Frank Starn, SVP and COO of McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical, announced that Ann Richardson Berkey, SVP public affairs for McKesson, will be retiring. "After an accomplished and storied 26-year career with McKesson, Ann has decided to retire from the company," Starn told attendees of McKesson's ideaShare here Wednesday morning. "Ann has been a very close colleague and dear friend for quite a long time. ... I watched her build an incredibly strong public affairs group. She has vision; she has deep government relations and expertise," he said. "Over the years, Ann's leadership has successfully supported advanced public policies that have benefited McKesson, but also it's benefited our industry."

Berkey is responsible for corporate public policy strategy and communications, and for the management of federal, state and international government relations at McKesson. Prior to McKesson, Berkey was a principal at Berkey Associates, a government relations consulting firm in the Bay Area.

Earlier in her career, she managed state government relations for Shell Oil in the western region and federal government relations in their Houston headquarters. As a special assistant to two Cabinet officers (i.e., U.S. Departments of Health, Education and Welfare, and Interior) in the 1970s, she held responsibilities for special projects with governors, members of Congress and the White House, as well as political briefings.

Berkey has served on the Advisory Board of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry since 2001. She was chair of the board of directors of the Public Affairs Council in Washington and remains on their board. She joined the board of directors of the National Marrow Donor Program in 2011 as a patient family representative, following her husband's death from leukemia, and has served on their executive committee, compensation committee and board development committee. Berkey received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College.

She has two grown children and lives in Oakland, Calif.