George S. Barrett: Top Notch Healthcare Executive

You can tell how good an executive is if he performs well in different environments or in other words has worked for different companies. While there’s nothing wrong with climbing up the ranks in only one company, working for different companies means making adjustments especially when dealing with a new set of co-workers.

George S. Barrett is one executive who has move in different companies while at the same time scaling the corporate ladders in the companies he has worked for. At the executive level he was the president of NMC Laboratories before it was taken over by Alpharma in 1990. The takeover did not negatively impact in his career as he served in various positions with Alpharma Inc. including as president of US Pharmaceuticals from 1994 to 1997. He then became president and CEO of Diad Research, a technology start-up based at John Hopkins School of Medicine.

Barrett then joined TEVA Pharmaceuticals and was president and CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals USA from March 1999 to December 2004. He assumed bigger responsibilities when he became the CEO of Teva North America and corporate executive vice president of Global Pharmaceutical Markets of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.

 He’s biggest move came in 2007 when he joined Cardinal Health as vice chairman and CEO of the firm’s Health Supply Chain Services segment. In this position Barrett was responsible for all of Cardinal’s supply chain businesses, which includes pharmaceutical distribution, medical/surgical distribution, nuclear pharmacy services, Presource®surgical kitting services and the Medicine Shoppe international pharmacy franchise operations.  As has been the typical pattern of his career Barrett moved up the latter and eventually became the Chairman and CEO OF Cardinal Health, Inc.

Cardinal Health is a Fortune 500 health care services company which aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of health care. It is huge company by any measure with annual revenues in excess of $100 billion and an employee headcount of 30,000.

Barrett obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977 from Brown University and an MBA degree from New York University in 1988. He is also an Ellis Island Medals of Honor recipient in 2009.