Page 11 - rp-may-2020

NEWS IN FOCUS
9
RET AIL PHARMA C Y • MA Y 2020
GENERAL MANAGER, GOLD CROSS PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Shayne Bland
Congratulations on your appointment
to your new role as General Manager of
Gold Cross. Please give us a snapshot
of your professional history.
I studied industrial engineering
at Monash University, and after a
brief stint building base stations for
European weather satellites, found
myself working as an actuarial analyst
at a large general insurance company.
Somehow, I spent the next 20 years
in the insurance industry in a range of
roles covering product development,
sales and distribution, portfolio
management and people management.
It was in this industry I discovered the
Pharmacy Guild and moved to Guild
Insurance in 2012 as head of product
and underwriting.
At the other end of the spectrum,
I’ve always had an interest in small
business and while at Guild Insurance
was fortunate enough to co-found, and
take a role as Director of, a start-up
craft brewery on Victoria’s Mornington
Peninsula. I think the role at Gold Cross
will require and utilise all the skills and
experience I’ve developed over the
years and more.
For people unfamiliar with the critical
role Gold Cross plays for the Guild,
can you explain what the function of
the business is?
The reason we exist is to support the
Guild, its members and the broader
community pharmacy industry, which
we do through three key functions.
The first is via exclusive pharmacy-only
consumer brands, the most famous
being Glucojel jellybeans. The return
from these products directly funds
important resources and services at
the Guild in representing the interests
of its members.
Secondly, we partner with high-quality
pharmacy suppliers and endorse
their products and services for use
in a community pharmacy. A product
or service that is endorsed with
the Pharmacy Guild gold cross has
been through rigorous selection
criteria and gives a pharmacist
confidence in its use.
Finally, we also produce the pharmacy
publication,
ITK
(In the Know).
Why do you think the gold cross is
such a trusted symbol?
The gold cross is a visual
representation of the values of
Australian community pharmacy.
In the customer’s mind, I think the
gold cross logo represents the
experience they have when entering
their local community pharmacy:
trust, service and advice.
The incredible value of local
pharmacy is being demonstrated
right now with pharmacists on the
frontline in helping protect our
communities from this COVID-19
pandemic. The Guild gold cross is the
key to uniting the sector under the
one symbol and I feel privileged to
work with this brand.
What are your priorities for the
short term?
I’m still getting to know the business and
learning about the sector. I’m talking with
as many people as I can to understand
their perspective on current market drivers
and where opportunities and challenges
lie. In my experience, successful
businesses have a strong purpose,
which they develop their business model
around, so we’ll review ours and ensure it
resonates with our purpose.
My initial priority is to leverage our
existing strengths and ensure we’re
performing as well as possible. I’m also
developing a strategy that identifies
opportunities to provide mutual benefit
for Guild members and Gold Cross. We’ll
undertake a process to assess our brand
recognition at consumer and pharmacist
level to identify where we can improve.
I think we’re well placed to play an
important role in helping community
pharmacists realise the Guild’s vision
for the sector over the next five years
as identified through its Community
Pharmacy 2025 project, so that’s an
area I’ll focus on.