speaker bio

Joseph Magnacca oversees Walgreens marketing and merchandising operations and leads the integration of the Duane Reade drugstores, which Walgreens acquired in April 2010.
 
A retail industry veteran of more than 20 years, Magnacca joined Duane Reade in 2008 as SVP and chief merchandising officer. He was subsequently promoted to EVP at Duane Reade and then to president of the New York-based drugstore chain following its acquisition by Walgreens.
 
Magnacca was the driving force behind the transformation of Duane Reade's urban model that has revolutionized the drugstore consumer experience. That includes a new beauty concept, The Look Boutique, which combines prestige skin care and beauty along with mass beauty into a full service department with a department store look and feel. Many of Duane Reade's urban concepts are being integrated into Walgreens merchandising programs.
 
Magnacca also served as VP of marketing and merchandising for Loblaw, Canada's leading food distributer and provider of general merchandise products and services, and as EVP of merchandising and category management for Shoppers Drug Mart, the largest drug chain in Canada.
 
In 2010 Magnacca received the Beyond Beauty Award from the James E. Marshall OCD Foundation for his efforts to raise awareness of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The same year, he was named Merchant of the Year for Drugstore Retailing by Chain Drug Review magazine.
 
Magnacca was honored in 2009 with The Good Scout Award by The Greater New York Councils, Boy Scouts of America for his role in changing the drug retail landscape in the United States.