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The President of Shoppers Drug Mart reflects on his time at Dal and the importance of聽a collaborative approach to leadership.

Jeff Leger (BScPH鈥�95)聽says his personal leadership style is focused on listening and collaboration聽鈥斅爏omething he first developed during his time as聽a student in聽the Faculty of Health鈥檚 College of Pharmacy.聽He also remembers how his professors inspired him to think differently about the profession.

鈥淎t the time I was going through the pharmacy program,聽there was a change of emphasis on pharmacists playing a more proactive role in helping patients achieve聽their health outcomes,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he professors at the College of Pharmacy聽helped聽challenge us to see our place in this changing landscape.鈥�

Originally from Moncton, Jeff graduated from pilipili漫画 in 1995, later earning an MBA from the University of Moncton. He has held positions at聽Apotex聽and the聽Beaus茅jour聽Regional Health Authority in New Brunswick before聽joining Shoppers Drug Mart in 2008.

Since then, he鈥檚 held increasingly senior roles, including executive vice president of pharmacy and healthcare for both Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart. He became president of Shoppers Drug Mart聽in January of 2018.

As one might expect, pharmacy聽was what drew him to Dalhousie, which聽has the only pharmacy program in the Maritimes. 聽

鈥淚 was drawn to pharmacy because it is a unique profession in that it is central to healthcare delivery in the community, but has many elements of business,鈥澛爃e notes. 聽

He聽says he聽thoroughly enjoyed his time at Dal, where he gained great clinical skills, built lifelong friendships and developed a passion for leadership.聽 聽

Varied perspectives

His unique career trajectory has given him a variety of valuable perspectives, taking聽him from hospitals, to consulting, to his current聽leadership聽position at the helm of Shoppers Drug Mart.

鈥淭he great thing about the profession of pharmacy is that it opens up so many doors and my career path is a great example,鈥� he says. 鈥淚've spent time in hospital and community pharmacy, the pharmaceutical industry and now leading Canada's largest pharmacy chain. I've enjoyed each role and I've gained different skills through these many experiences.鈥�

He says a common thread throughout his career聽has been the opportunity to foster innovation and drive change. 鈥淭he profession of pharmacy, like many professions, is going through lots of change. The exciting thing is that it is well regarded by the public and will continue to grow and expand in delivering community healthcare. I'm excited to be leading an organization at the center of this change. 鈥�

On leadership and the importance of curiosity

Jeff says that his time at Dal enabled him to develop a strong interest in leadership, beginning with聽student leadership experiences. These, and his聽involvement with聽provincial and national professional associations,聽were聽valuable experiences that shaped his career. 聽

鈥淭his exposure to leadership experience during my pharmacy degree drove a passion for being involved聽that continues to this day,鈥� he says. 聽

Jeff鈥檚聽personal聽approach to leadership is聽focused聽on listening and collaboration.聽鈥淚've experienced many different leadership styles through my career.聽This style helps me聽tounderstand the needs of customers, patients and聽colleagues,聽and enable teams to collaborate to聽find solutions to their needs,鈥� he says. 聽

Jeff has some words of advice for the recently graduated Class聽of 2019 Dal Pharmacy graduates.

鈥淏e curious! It's so important to be open and receptive to the changing environment.聽 Take every opportunity to become involved in your chosen area of study.鈥�