Steven Collis

Steven Collis has served as Chairman and CEO of Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen) since 2011, leading one of the three largest pharmaceutical distribution companies in the United States alongside McKesson and Cardinal Health. Under his leadership, the company grew revenue from approximately $80 billion to over $260 billion, driven by pharmaceutical price inflation, volume growth, and strategic expansion into specialty and global markets. Collis's most visible recent move was the 2023 rebrand from AmerisourceBergen to Cencora — a name change reflecting the company's evolution beyond its U.S.-centric drug distribution roots. This evolution has been substantive: Collis orchestrated the acquisition of World Courier (specialty logistics) and the 2021 acquisition of a majority stake in Alliance Healthcare, giving Cencora a significant European pharmaceutical distribution presence spanning the UK, Germany, France, and other markets. The most important strategic shift under Collis has been toward specialty pharmaceuticals — high-value drugs for conditions like cancer, rare diseases, and autoimmune disorders that require cold-chain handling, patient support services, and complex reimbursement navigation. Specialty drugs are growing much faster than traditional pharmaceuticals and carry higher margins for distributors. Collis's decisions on specialty drug service expansion, international growth pace, opioid settlement payments management, and capital allocation between growth investments, buybacks, and dividends are the primary drivers of Cencora's stock performance.