Business Chief USA July 2019

BARTELL DRUGS
104
“We want to bring
Bartell’s into the
modern world
and ensure that
its brand and
products will still
be here in another
hundred years”
—
Kari Escobedo,
IT, Bartell Drugs
working to build teams to shape Bartell’s
digital transformation strategy. This
approach will carry the company into
the fourth industrial revolution and,
hopefully, into the 22nd century.
Prior to joining the company in July
2018, Escobedo spent over a decade
working for some of the Pacific
Northwest’s largest, most game-changing
companies. From years of growing
up in a military household to experiences
at Starbucks, Microsoft, T-Mobile,
and Kaiser Permanente of WA, she
shares how the transformation values
of continually driving innovation,
promoting community and diversity, and
championing adaptability are informing
Bartell’s digital transformation.
“I grew up in the Marine Corps,
moving around every couple of years.
I’ve lived all over the country and parts
of the world – that’s what you do as
a military child,” recalls Escobedo.
“Every two to three years, we would
pick up and move to another state.
My siblings and I got dropped into a
whole new school on a regular basis.”
Escobedo credits her frequent
relocations into new cities, cultures
and social dynamics at an early age
for a trait she has found invaluable
JULY 2019