Mike Wysong, CARE Pharmacies

Mike Wysong is chief executive officer of CARE Pharmacies Cooperative, a member-owned network of independent community and specialty pharmacies. Over 16 years he has grown CARE from 45 pharmacies and $156 million in sales to more than 200 locations across 28 states and nearly $2 billion in sales. A Virginia Military Institute graduate, Class of 1993, and former chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores from 2023 to 2024, he spent his early career in healthcare sales and distribution at Baxter, Allegiance, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen before becoming CARE’s CEO.

Under his leadership, CARE has been named a Hot 100 retailer by the National Retail Federation multiple times and was named Regional Drug Chain of the Year for 2021 by Chain Drug Review and Pharmacy Innovator of the Year for 2026 from another trade publication. Earlier this year he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Mount St. Mary’s University. His work has centered on keeping pharmacy economically viable while expanding what local pharmacists can do for patients: clinical services, access and community care. He is also a founding member of The Buyers Alliance and Round Table Sourcing, collaborative initiatives that help independents compete with larger national chains. As he puts it, “No profession has the same capability as pharmacy to transform our healthcare system.”

Last month, the NACDS board elected Wysong its next president and CEO, succeeding Steve Anderson, who retires after 20 years. Wysong will lead the association as it advances pharmacy’s role in care delivery and strengthens the industry’s economic foundation. He will step down as CARE’s CEO at that time, leaving the cooperative in the hands of the leadership team and the member-owners he spent 16 years building.

“I’m proudest of the team that earned CARE the 2026 Pharmacy Innovator of the Year award. That recognition belongs to our members, the independent owners who proved a cooperative can grow, innovate and still feel like a neighborhood pharmacy. They did the work; we just gave them the platform to do it at scale. That is the story of CARE.”