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BARRETT TOAN:
MAKING IT COUNT
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By Christine Imbs
Whoever said, “It’s not the hours we put in on the job, it’s what we put into the hours that count,” must have had Express Scripts CEO Barrett Toan in mind.
“I think people really want to work and they want to do a good job,” he says. “And I believe business and government organizations that can organize their work forces to give them that opportunity, not only help improve the lives of their workers, but improves the organizations as well.”
He should know. Fifteen years ago he helped bring the struggling Express Scripts back from the brink of disaster. Today, it boasts $13.2 billion in revenues, and ranks 22nd on Forbes Platinum 400 list of “best big companies in America and 150 on the Fortune 500 list. But although he gets the credit, he is quick to point out that the success of Express Scripts was due to the efforts of thousands.
“I am only one of many who have made Express Scripts what it is today,” he stresses. “The success of this company is the product of thousands of employees working very hard over the last 15 years. I really hope the people here understand this.”
Express Scripts isn’t the only place Toan has made his mark. He taught high school for three years at a boarding school. “A good many of my relatives, including my mother, were teachers. I loved it,” he comments. “But I felt it would be good for me to get a graduate degree. Being interested in public policy, I got my masters in public administration.”
Toan says it was his father’s work with the federal government and later for the New York State Power Authority that peaked his interest in public service. Also it was the mid-seventies and a time when the government was actively trying to address societal issues. “At that time, tax revenues were pretty modest, but demand for services like welfare and Medicaid were growing at a much faster rate. That meant states faced budgetary problems,” he says. “People like me, who came out of a business school environment, were recruited to help state governors balance the needs for services with limited resources.”
After graduate school Toan spent 10 years in the public sector that included working for four former governors—Illinois Gov. Dan Walker, Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Schapp, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, and Missouri Gov. Kit Bond. At the end of Gov. Bond’s second term, Toan says it seemed a good time to move into the private sector.
“My wife and I wanted to start a family, but we seemed to always be on the move. We moved from Springfield, Ill., to Harrisburg, Pa., to Washington D.C., to Little Rock, Ark., and to Jefferson City, Mo.—all in a 10 year period,” he explains. “We felt it would be better to find work where I could stay in the same city, doing the same thing while we raised our children. It was a change, but a good one.”
In April, the 57-year-old Toan made another change when he retired from Express Scripts. Now he says he’ll have time to pursue more personal goals. “I want to become a Rock Star. Then after that I’d like to play linebacker for the St. Louis Rams,” he says laughing.
Okay, maybe not. But he does plan to step up his involvement in civic life within the community, and of course, spend more time with his family. “I’ve worked 30 years in positions that have really required complete attention to the business. I’d like more time with my family.”
TalkingPOINT
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BORN: Billings, Montana.
FAMILY: Wife, Polly; son Elliot in college; daughter Frannie in high school.
EDUCATION: Kenyon College, bachelor’s degree in history; Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, master’s degree in public administration.
INFLUENCES: “My mother and father,
I grew up in a time when parents had their kids’ attention.”
FAVORITE BOOKS: “Anything well written.
I like fiction, but read a lot of non-fiction
as well.” |
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