Social media marketing guru to headline DSN Summit

Drug Store News will host the 17th annual Industry Issues Summit at the famed New York Athletic Club on Dec. 3, with record-breaking attendance expected.



DSN also is proud to announce that social media marketing genius and best-selling business writer Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, will deliver a special lunchtime keynote address at this year’s event. Vaynerchuk, who got his start in business by building his father’s New Jersey-based wine shop into a $45 million online business — along with the viral wine-tasting web show “Wine Library TV,” which led him to a 10-book deal with HarperStudio — leads VaynerMedia, the digital agency he launched in 2009 to work with companies the likes of GE and PepsiCo.



Author of the New York Times/ Wall Street Journal/Associated Press bestseller “Crush It! Why Now is the Best Time to Cash in on Your Passion,” and “The Thank You Economy,” which details the effect of social media on business — required reading for business leaders around the world — Vaynerchuk will share insights from his newest book, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World.”



This year’s Industry Issues Summit event once again features a top-notch lineup of leading retail executives from companies including CVS Health, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart, H-E-B, Kroger, Wakefern, Costco, Family Dollar and many more.



Moderated by Dan Mack, founder of the Mack Elevation Forum and author of “Dark Horse: How Challenger Companies Rise to Prominence,” the Industry Issues Summit is the anchor of the daylong thought leadership/industry networking event. “The vision of the Industry Issues Summit is to discuss how we elevate retailer-supplier engagement while reviewing the changing dynamics influencing our industry,” Mack said. “We will discuss seven drivers affecting growth, including balancing boomer and millennial health needs, optimizing trade investments, designing value and premium consumer offers, trip consolidation and implications, new developments in omnichannel, localization and the next generation of leadership.”



Hamacher Resource Group VP and co-owner Dave Wendland will be back to once again moderate the Chronic Care and Retail Health Roundtable, which this year focuses on the transforming role of the pharmacist; better connections between hospitals and pharmacies in transitioning care; incorporating quality and adherence metrics for people with multiple chronic conditions; and supporting patient self-management and family care-giving through enhanced merchandising, informational resources and operational approaches. “According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic diseases are responsible for 7-of-10 deaths each year, and treating people with chronic diseases accounts for 86% of our nation’s healthcare costs,” Wendland noted.



The program kicks off with the Health, Wellness and Technology Summit, moderated by Chris Dimos, SVP business development at McKesson.