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Houston-Based PCCA Preserves and Extends Its Award-Winning Culture by Naming Lizzie Dragon Chief Culture Officer
[February 08, 2016]

Houston-Based PCCA Preserves and Extends Its Award-Winning Culture by Naming Lizzie Dragon Chief Culture Officer


PCCA, the Houston-based supplier of chemicals, equipment and training for compounding pharmacists, has completed an internal focus around the company's culture, which won it recognition as one of Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces for 2014 and 2015.

These efforts support the teams reporting to Lizzie Dragon, who holds the newly created title of Chief Culture Officer. The goal is to focus more on the importance of a culture fit when recruiting, onboarding and developing employees. A monthly new-hire lunch with the CEO and President, company-wide events, health and wellness initiatives and the move of the Human Resources department to Dragon's group have all been integral parts in continuing to hire and retain employees. A new Corporate Communication team has also been created in Dragon's group to focus on critical non-marketing communication such as reputation management and communication with employees, legislators, regulators, news media, professional organizations and pharmacy students. The Training and Education department, focused on educating pharmacists in the compounding industry, will join with the Culture team to now also be responsible for training internal employees for personal growth.

President Jim Smith said, "Culture is our driver and the motivation for the changes we've made. Being intentional and deliberate about preserving our unique, collaborative culture is leading us to move things functionally where they can create new synergies, by leveraging the talents of our strategic management team and becoming more efficient in the way we do business." PCCA's culture is credited for the company's employee retention rate of 95 percent for the fourth quarter of 2015.



Building on natural synergies, the Marketing department was integrated with Sales under Ari Pailakian, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Other synergies include consolidating: all international operations under Marc DuPont, Chief Financial Officer; Information Technology under Fabian Zaccardo, Chief Operating Officer; Eagle Analytical Services under Gus Bassani, Vice President of R&D, Formulations and Consulting; and unique business units, such as PK Software, Wellness Works and Rx Skin Therapy, under Ernie Rapp, Vice President of Business Development.

Smith emphasized that the changes are intended to spur growth and to improve service. In fact, there are several open positions currently available at PCCA. "The changes we've made are very much a proactive series of moves designed to align us with where the marketplace is going, not to catch up with it."


Dave Sparks, Chief Executive Officer, added, "By moving people into new relationships and new roles, we want to create and support new connections, which we believe will result in better conversations throughout our company. Better conversations result in discovering new synergies, greater clarity about our work and inventing better ways to serve our customers."

PCCA is a complete resource for independent compounding pharmacies. The company's members are nearly 4,000 independent community pharmacists in the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries around the world. Incorporated in 1981 by a network of pharmacists who recognized the need to help patients requiring customized medications, PCCA is celebrating 35 years of supporting pharmacy compounding. Learn more about the PCCA culture and opportunities at pccarx.com/careers.


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