As Chief Strategic Supplier & Program Officer for Advantus Health Partners, Craig Wright leads all efforts related to category management. He oversees the end-to-end process for products and services – from creation and negotiation of supplier contracts to operational execution within the GPO structure. His category management teams provide expertise in clinical service lines, pharmacy services, and equipment – managing more than $2B in annual expense.
Prior to stepping into the role of Chief Strategic Supplier & Program Officer, Craig was the VP of Pharmacy Services for Advantus Health Partners providing oversight of all pharmacy and lab operational components of supply. This includes labor, automation, and regulatory compliance initiatives that drove savings of over $35M through standardization and optimization efforts between 2022 and 2024. In 2024, he also led the establishment and creation of Advantus Distribution Services, a central distribution warehouse servicing Advantus clients.
Craig is also a pharmacist with a long tenure of roles across a large health system. As such, he has experienced large-scale M&A activity, the development and implementation of an electronic health record platform across 23 acute care settings, and numerous global, environmental, and political supply chain disruptions. His expertise navigating change management, delivering advanced technology solutions, and challenging the status quo create value wherever his attention lands. Craig’s category management approach has reimagined the structure and processes that lay a foundation for group purchasing operations yet are required to meet growing challenges of the healthcare industry.
Craig earned his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati and a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University.
Areas of Interest
Group Purchasing Organization Solutions, Pharmacy Services, Management & Consulting Services
