Page 20 - RP-MAY-2021

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 16 NEWS IN FOCUS Jason Rose GENERAL MANAGER, GOLD CROSS With years of experience in healthcare, particularly in pharmacy, the new GM tells Retail Pharmacy he will “connect, communicate and collaborate” to take the iconic brand to new heights. Jason, you’re very familiar with the pharmacy sector. Please remind our readers of your pharmacy history and what you’ve done in recent times. Thank you and yes, I’ve had more than 15 years’ experience in the healthcare sector, and after a year away from pharmacy I’m returning to take Gold Cross forward into its next exciting phase of growth. As you mentioned, I’m familiar with the sector. I was truly fortunate to be part of the Terry White Chemists group for nearly 10 years in a variety of roles. I was responsible for national health services, including health and wellbeing programs. I was involved in the development of the in-pharmacy clinic concept. This led to TWC being the pilot pharmacy group for the first round of the flu vaccination program, and which is now synonymous as an important healthcare service that pharmacists offer year-round. I also ran the pharmacy operations, where I worked in conjunction with our network of pharmacists, establishing and maintaining professional relationships with pharmacy managers, retail managers and their teams. This involved brand compliance with best-practice standards, including training pharmacists and retail managers in retail excellence and working with our pharmacy owners to establish and connect to their local communities. I also had the pleasure of running the private label sales team and the retail product portfolio. I have a lot of friends in pharmacy and in the Pharmacy Guild, and I’m extremely fortunate to have this responsibility at Gold Cross. We’re all grateful for what, over two decades, \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\[former general manager\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\] Trevor Clarkin gave to the Guild and to Gold Cross. He set the amazing foundations this brand has. I’m a very customer-centric person with a genuine willingness to connect, communicate and collaborate. In recent times I was part of Bupa Health Insurance as their regional general manager working alongside the retail and corporate channel teams to deliver sales and retention excellence, promoting health insurance products through multiple channels: face, voice and online. Gold Cross is an icon in the pharmacy sector with some of its brands. What’s your view about some of these key assets? The strength of the Gold Cross brand speaks directly to the high esteem in which community pharmacy is held by the broader Australian community. Over the course of almost 50 years the Gold Cross logo has come to represent safety, confidence and trust for the products and services adorned with the mark. Similarly, the Glucojel brand stands without peer as delivering the best tasting jellybeans on sale today. It’s a privilege to be joining a company with such storied brands and I’m excited about the opportunities this affords to bring even greater benefit for community pharmacy and our customers alike. What are your short-term priorities for Gold Cross? I’m joining Gold Cross at a particularly exciting time as we welcome a brand- new addition to the Glucojel line of products. Glucojel sales are a driving force in the overall success of Gold Cross and I’ll therefore be doing everything I can to support the team as we launch this fantastic new offering in coming months. With partnerships being at the core of Gold Cross’s value proposition I’ll be focusing much of my early efforts on connecting with our valued partners and continuing the conversation regarding the delivery of mutual benefit for many years to come. Of course, every successful business has a great team behind it, and I’ll be taking the time to gain insights from the many years of experience embedded in the business. “Over the course of almost 50 years the Gold Cross logo has come to represent safety, confidence and trust for the products and services adorned with the mark.“ What’s your key message to pharmacy about Gold Cross? Gold Cross has never been stronger or better placed to represent the needs and views of Australian community pharmacy. The Guild is committed to continuing to deliver innovative products and services to its members, working with Gold Cross to commercialise opportunities, offering the greatest value to community pharmacy, and ensuring it remains the most appropriate and efficient system of delivering medicines, medication management and related services to the Australian public. I look forward to working with stakeholders from across the industry to bring new, innovative and sustainable solutions which deliver tangible benefit to community pharmacy. RETAIL PHARMACY • MAY 2021