In the two years since the Kirby Lester company was brought under new ownership and the leadership of Garry Zage, sweeping changes have been made to reshape the 36-year-old pharmacy automation pioneer.

"The Kirby Lester that so many pharmacists have known is many miles behind us, literally and figuratively," says Zage, who purchased the company from Rod Lester in September 2005.

Zage points to the following accomplishments in the two years since the acquisition:

• The company relocated its headquarters to Lake Forest, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, from Stamford, Conn.

• A new core leadership team has been recruited by Zage, which includes

• CFO Stephen Burke, CTO Dave Schultz, and VP of Business Development Chris Thomsen.

• Several agreements have been signed with national pharmacy chains.

• Twenty new professional employees were added to headquarters staff.

• Partnerships with a dozen new international distributors have been made to continue expanding
   into new markets.

• An advisory board of top pharmacy industry executives has been established.

Kirby Lester has a customer base nearing 25,000 pharmacies in more than 30 countries.