Maggie Bruce is Senior Vice President, Association Marketing and Communications. She develops and oversees NCPDP’s internal and external communication strategy and programs to advance organizational priorities and increase member and industry engagement.

Maggie has more than 30 years of experience in recommending, developing, and managing strategic B2B and B2C communications programs for diverse healthcare organizations -- both non-profit and for-profit. Immediately prior to joining NCPDP, she was Director of Marketing for the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute where she developed and implemented marketing communications programs for the organization’s research and education products to help stakeholders optimize the value of drug benefit programs. At the HSM Group, a healthcare market research firm, she conducted audits to develop communication and positioning plans for provider organizations and created research-based communication for managed care executives on retention issues and changing customer expectations. As an account executive in an Arizona-based public relations and marketing firm, she advised healthcare clients on targeted communication, positioning and community involvement. She also created communication programs for provider organizations, including several-award-winning programs for Mayo Clinic Scottsdale. In addition to her experience in healthcare, Maggie also served for several years as Director of Communications for the Arizona State University Foundation, providing communications support for multiple fundraising efforts. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and Communication.

Steve Mullenix joined NCPDP in 2009 and currently serves as SVP Public Policy & Industry Relations. Prior to accepting his current position Steve served as Director of Professional & Trade Relations for Covidien/Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Mullenix also served as Vice President of Managed Care & Professional Services and Vice President of Professional & Industry Relations during a ten year period with the national pharmacy franchise organization, Medicap Pharmacies, Inc. He is the former Executive Vice-President of the national drug utilization review and pharmacy consulting company, Q-A, Inc. Mullenix also served as Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer for the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA) and its for-profit subsidiary, PNI, and was instrumental in the development of the very successful "Iowa Drug Utilization Review Program".

Mullenix has been an active member of numerous state and national pharmacy organizations including the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), the American Society of Health System Pharmacists and the National Council on Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP).

Mullenix’s current and past elected positions and appointments include serving as Standardization Co-Chair, Past Chairman and member of the Board of Trustees of NCPDP, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, Vice President of the Iowa Prescription Drug Corporation Board of Directors, member of the APhA and Iowa Pharmacy House of Delegates, member of the Editorial Board of several pharmacy publications and numerous other professional and civic appointments.

Mullenix is a graduate of the University Of Iowa College Of Pharmacy and began his career in community and hospital pharmacy, serving more than ten years as Director of Pharmacy Services in a regional acute care health system. Mullenix has served in a number of research, consultant, teaching faculty, and administrative capacities and now represents NCPDP in the areas of government affairs, and professional and industry relations. Mullenix has been quoted in a number of national publications and is a frequent speaker at many national conferences on topics such as quality assurance, managed health care, pharmaceutical care, and pharmacy technology. Mullenix was recently named the 2014 recipient of the University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Pharmacy Practice Award, an honor given annually to a University of Iowa College of Pharmacy Alum for sustained commitment and success in enhancing the practice of pharmacy.

Richard Sage is Executive Vice President, Innovation & Standards Development with the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP). In this critical role, Sage brings his unique blend of broad and deep industry experience to cultivate a community of innovation within NCPDP to ensure our standards continue to support interoperability for new technologies, reforms, and advances to transform the future of healthcare in alignment with NCPDP’s 3-Year Strategic Plan. Sage additionally provides leadership in the development and implementation of research needed for NCPDP’s business development, strategic planning, budgeting, membership recruiting, outreach and sponsorships. In addition, Sage leads the organization’s standards development, information technology, database services departments and provides technical partner oversight.

Sage has shown a long-standing commitment to NCPDP’s vision to lead the industry in healthcare standards and solutions for the common good. Before joining NCPDP, he supported the Standardization Committee Co-Chair and was a member of the Bylaws Committee and Finance Committee. He also served as Co-Chair of NCPDP’s Work Group 11 ePrescribing & Related Transactions.

Sage is a well-known industry executive, most recently demonstrating success as Vice President of Retail Solutions at McKesson Corporation, where he led the development and implementation of a strategic roadmap to govern its retail pharmacy business. Previously Sage served as Vice President and General Manager at Supplylogix, a division of McKesson, managing the business unit and expanding market penetration into health systems and independent pharmacies in the U.S. and Canada. Sage was also Chief Executive Officer and Partner at Check-InMD, a health information technology start-up focused on patient access and transparency. Before that, as Senior Vice President of Pharmacy Services at Emdeon Business Services, Sage led the vision, strategy and execution of all facets of its Pharmacy Services unit, shifting the business model from a single product focus to a multi-product suite of services that served as the foundation for Emdeon’s revenue growth.

Sage earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Illinois State University. He also studied Business Essentials for Executives at the University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton Business School and received Executive Management Training at the University of Michigan.