GoodRx names Wendy Barnes president and CEO
Wendy Barnes has been named president and CEO of GoodRx, effective Jan. 1.
Barnes brings more than 30 years of leadership experience across the pharmacy and medical benefit industry to her new role.
Barnes will join GoodRx following her role as CEO of RxBenefits, where she led the company in providing pharmacy benefit support to more than 2,000 self-insured clients comprised of more than three million lives.
Under her guidance, RxBenefits became a leading entity providing tailored pharmacy benefit solutions that promote affordability and transparency. Before that, as president of Express Scripts Pharmacy, Barnes oversaw the service, operation and financial success of the organization’s multiple pharmacies on behalf of 100 million members. Barnes also served as group vice president at Rite Aid, where she was responsible for all aspects of managed care, including contracting, enhancing relationships with managed care organizations, overseeing pharmacy benefit managers and third-party payers and developing strategic partnerships.
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“Wendy is joining GoodRx at a pivotal moment—both for the healthcare industry and for GoodRx. In a world where conventional insurance coverage is increasingly restrictive, and patients and healthcare professionals are bearing increasing costs and time burdens, GoodRx offers a complement to insurance that fills the gaps that existing systems don’t cover and helps Americans save both time and money,” said Scott Wagner, interim CEO at GoodRx. “Wendy has the expertise, vision and leadership to help GoodRx grow in unique and valuable ways, both for our customers and as a business. I’m excited for Wendy and I’m particularly excited for GoodRx.”
Barnes’ career highlights include her effective leadership roles at RxBenefits, Express Scripts, Rite Aid and Pfizer, leading extensive pharmacy operations and simplifying and improving patient healthcare experiences. She also served for 10 years as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the United States Air Force.
"I am thrilled to join GoodRx and contribute to its mission of making healthcare more affordable for millions of Americans," Barnes said. “With the evolving challenges in healthcare delivery and management, I look forward to working with our talented executive leadership team to foster growth and innovation at GoodRx and within the industry. We have a tremendous opportunity to free Americans from friction in getting medication.”
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In her role as CEO, Barnes will focus on advancing GoodRx’s strategic initiatives, with particular attention on bringing all brand affordability programs onto the GoodRx platform, expanding GoodRx’s product experience with healthcare professionals and enriching partnerships with retail pharmacies, insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers to help save Americans time and money. Driven by a steadfast commitment to making healthcare more accessible and affordable, Barnes aims to build a better patient experience and help fill gaps within the existing system.
“As we embark on this transition, I want to thank Scott for his hard work and huge impact over the last year and a half as our Interim CEO. His leadership and deep business expertise has been felt both inside and outside the walls of GoodRx,” said Trevor Bezdek, co-founder and chairman of GoodRx. “As we look ahead to the next phase of growth, I’m confident and enthusiastic that Wendy’s experience and dedication to improving patient lives will drive GoodRx’s mission forward.”