ARLINGTON, Va. — With international relations and cybersecurity among the high-profile issues of the day, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) today announced a true expert on these issues, Gen. Michael Hayden, as the keynote speaker at the 2018 NACDS Total Store Expo.

Gen. Michael Hayden

Gen. Hayden will speak during the event’s Business Program on Sunday, August 26. The NACDS Total Store Expo will run from August 25th to 27th in Denver, CO.

“It is a tremendous privilege to have General Hayden speak at the NACDS Total Store Expo,” said NACDS president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson. “General Hayden addressed the 2010 NACDS Annual Meeting and the audience thoroughly appreciated and benefitted from the insights he provided at that event. As the director of the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency during particularly challenging times in our country’s history, he is highly experienced at dealing with complex security issues and with one of the topics on the minds of industry leaders today: change. It will certainly be an honor to welcome him back.”

As a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, Hayden will be able to provide the audience with a glimpse into his extraordinary understanding of national security issues, international conflicts and relations, and the current political climate and the consequences of it. His career in Duquesne University’s ROTC program began the journey that eventually led to becoming one of our military’s most influential leaders. Hayden was the Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center, the Commander of the Air Intelligence Agency, and the first Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence. Hayden served in senior staff positions at the Pentagon and the National Security Council. He was the deputy chief of staff for the United Nations Command and U.S. Forces in South Korea.

A retired four-star general, Hayden remains highly involved in security issues – often for private-sector entities. In addition to being a Principal at the Chertoff Group, he serves on the Board of Directors for Motorola Solutions. Among other roles, he serves as a visiting professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. Other accomplishments include writing a New York Times best-selling memoir, Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, and receiving awards from the Intelligence and National Security Alliance and the CIA Officers’ Memorial Foundation.

In addition to the Business Program, the NACDS Total Store Expo will feature a vibrant educational component that includes topics of relevance to the pharmacy, to the front end of stores, and to the entire supply chain. Other topics that will be addressed during the conference’s “Insight Sessions” include: advancing collaborative patient care, expanding people’s access to pharmacy care, the role of pharmacies as part of the solution to the opioid abuse epidemic, destination retailing, omnichannel commerce, women’s impact on the industry, pharmaceutical trends and issues, and voice activated ordering.