LANGLEY, British Columbia — Sue Paish will end her five-year stint as head of Pharmasave Drugs when she leaves the company later this month to become chief executive officer at the laboratory testing services provider LifeLabs Inc.

Pharmasave’s national board of directors has named chief financial officer Zvonko Maretic as interim CEO. He assumes that role on May 30.

“The board is both proud and appreciative of Sue’s contributions to our organization, and we wish her the very best as she moves forward with her new endeavour,” national board chairman Gary Utter says. “Under her leadership our organization has grown to be a respected industry leader, helping to guide public policy and communicate the value and importance of pharmacy as a means to deliver better health care to Canadians.”

Paish joined Pharmasave in 2004 as a director. She was appointed CEO three years later.
In her new role Paish will lead Canada’s largest provider of community laboratory services. LifeLabs reportedly delivers more than 50 million lab tests to over 10 million Canadians and 20,000 physicians annually.

“Sue Paish is an effective, energetic leader with the vision and creativity that the health care sector needs,” says John Knowlton, LifeLabs’ chairman and executive vice president at parent company Borealis Infrastructure. “We are excited about the future of LifeLabs and look forward to working with Sue in her new role.”

Before joining Pharmasave, Paish was the managing partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver’s largest law firm. Paish was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2005, 2010 and 2011 by the Women’s Executive Network.