Robert J. Bolger (1922 – October 8, 2007) was an American businessman, the Founder and President of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, and oversaw the transition of the drug store industry from regional to national chains.

Biography

Robert J. Bolger was born in 1922 and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He graduated from

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

with a B.S. degree in economics. He was a Navy fighter pilot during World War II and served on the Boxer and Independence aircraft carriers flying missions in F4U Corsairs.Obituaries
, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', October 16, 2007, pp. B07. He was the first President and CEO of the

National Association of Chain Drug Stores National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

from 1962 to 1987. Along with other founding drugstore chain executives, he helped to build the architecture of NACDS, and the entire drugstore chain industry. He helped establish the "Annual Meeting" of high-level figures in the industry.Brookman, Faye.
NACDS founder Robert Bolger dies at 85.
, ''WWD'', October 12, 2007. Bolger helped to forge both the philosophical identity and physical home of NACDS, leading the project to secure the land and construct NACDS' current headquarters offices in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, with the location partly chosen for its proximity to

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

. During his time at NACDS, Bolger expanded the association's government lobbying activities, helping to give the U.S. pharmaceutical industry the influence over government that it has today.Retail pharmacy industry loses two longtime contributors
, ''Drug Store News'', November 12, 2007. Bolger subsequently served as a member of the NACDS Honorary Board, and also served on the board of directors for

Barr Pharmaceuticals Barr Pharmaceuticals was a global specialty and generic drug manufacturer with operations in 30 countries. Approximately 75% of the company's revenues were from the sale of generic drugs, including 18% of sales which were from the sale of oral co ...

from 1988 to 2002. In addition, he is one of the authors of the book, ''Chain Drug Store Management and Operations''.

References

External links

* http://www.nacds.org/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Bolger, Robert J. 1922 births 2007 deaths American businesspeople in retailing United States Navy pilots of World War II Businesspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Businesspeople from Philadelphia Villanova University alumni United States Navy officers 20th-century American businesspeople