NACDS unveils keynote speaker to headline NACDS Annual Meeting

ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has announced that former U.S. Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers will deliver the keynote address during the 2015 NACDS Annual Meeting. 

Summers will speak during the NACDS Annual Meeting’s business program on Tuesday, April 28 in Palm Beach, Fla.



The only Treasury Secretary in the last half-century to have left office with a national budget surplus, Summers served in that role from 1999 to 2001, coinciding with the longest period of sustained economic growth in U.S. history.



Serving as director of the White House National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010, Summers played integral roles in shaping economic policy in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the automobile industry crisis and pressures on the European monetary system. Summers served as chief economist of the World Bank from 1991 to 1993.



“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Summers, a distinguished economic authority, to the NACDS Annual Meeting program this year,” said NACDS president and CEO Steve Anderson. “First-hand insights from Dr. Summers about his leadership experiences during challenging financial situations will no doubt offer a unique perspective for attendees.”



Summers served as Harvard University president from 2001 to 2006, during which time he focused on equality for lower-income students to attend the University, and on innovations in life science and stem cell research. Currently, he is the president emeritus and the Charles W. Eliot University professor at Harvard University. 

                   

At the age of 28, Summers became one of the youngest professors in the history of Harvard University. He was also a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal, given to the most outstanding economist under 40 in the United States. Summers was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2002 and has published several books and more than 150 papers in scholarly journals.



Recognized as one of the world’s most influential thinkers by publications such as Time and The Economist, Summers advises businesses and investors, and publishes regular columns in The Financial Times on national and global economic policy. He also serves on several boards including the Center for Global Development and Teach for America, and recently chaired the Commission on Global Health.