W. P. Carey School honors McKesson CEO Hammergren as Executive of the Year

The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University will present John H. Hammergren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of McKesson Corporation, with its prestigious Executive of the Year Award this week.

The school is bestowing its highest honor on Hammergren in recognition of his exemplary performance as chairman and CEO of the global health-care company. The award annually recognizes top executives who serve as exceptional models for future business leaders.

Under Hammergren’s leadership as CEO for the past 15 years, McKesson’s revenues have quadrupled to $179 billion while the health-care firm has expanded its footprint into international markets and new industry sectors. Today, the 183-year-old company ranks No. 11 on the Fortune 500 and employs more than 80,000 people.

McKesson is a portfolio company that has a presence in more than 20 countries and provides services and technology in all parts of the health-care ecosystem. Hammergren has spent his entire career in health care, having landed his first job as a hospital-supply sales representative as a new college graduate.

“John Hammergren has demonstrated outstanding and sustained leadership in a health-care environment that is ever changing,” says W. P. Carey School of Business Dean Amy Hillman. “He led McKesson from crisis to becoming a global leader in health-care services and information technology. Under his stewardship, McKesson has not only delivered outstanding returns for its investors, but successfully help health-care organizations deliver better care to their patients on a daily basis.” 

Hammergren, who has been with McKesson for 20 years, was recently named one of Harvard Business Review’s 100 “Top Performing CEOs in the World.” In 2015, Hammergren was named 2015 Best CEO for the health-care technology and distribution segment by buy-side analysts, money managers and sell-side researchers. Under his leadership, McKesson has been named one of Fortune Magazine’s Most Admired Companies for more than a decade. He is also co-author of the book, "Skin in the Game: How Putting Yourself First Today Will Revolutionize Health Care Tomorrow," which focused on the consumers’ role in health-care reform.

”I am honored to receive this award from W. P. Carey School of Business,” said Hammergren. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a long and successful career in an industry that touches people’s lives on a daily basis. And for the past 15 years, I’ve been privileged to lead an incredibly talented group of people at McKesson who are all united behind our company’s mission of better health.”

One of the foundational elements of Hammergren’s leadership has been the core set of values that he instituted early on in his tenure. McKesson’s ICARE values — which focus on doing what is ethically right, always putting the customer first, personal accountability, mutual respect and excellence — have guided the culture and success of the company since he took the helm.

Hammergren becomes the 33st annual Executive of the Year chosen by the Dean’s Council, a national group of prominent executives who advise the W. P. Carey School of Business. The award honors business leaders who have created and sustained superior organization performance, and whose presence exemplifies a model for future business leaders.  Previous honorees include Howard Schultz, chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks Coffee Company; Alan Mulally, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company; and Mike Ahearn, chairman of the board of First Solar, Inc.

Hammergren will be honored at a luncheon at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona, on April 21. The event is part of the Economic Club of Phoenix speaker series. For more information about the club, call 480-965-6568 or visit www.econclubphx.org.