Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
McKesson history
McKesson company history timeline
A third partner, Daniel Robbins, who had joined the enterprise as it grew, and who previously "was an assistant to the original partners," was the Robbins when the company was renamed McKesson & Robbins following Olcott's death in 1853.
In 1855, McKesson & Robbins became one of the first wholesale firms to manufacture drugs.
When John McKesson died in 1893, the McKesson heirs left the company in order to form the New York Quinine and Chemical Works.
1893: Founder John McKesson dies and his heirs leave the company.
By 1900 McKesson & Robbins had partially consolidated its industry by convincing several large wholesale drug distributors to become McKesson subsidiaries.
However, the prosperity did not last long and in 1909 the Musica team was arrested.
The prison experience did not reform the Musicas, however, and when they were again arrested in 1913 the charges were similar.
When he was released in 1916 he worked for the District Attorney's office as an undercover agent named William Johnson.
1918 – A severe flu pandemic infects a third of the world’s population, claiming the life of an estimated 50 million people worldwide.McKesson distributes lozenges with the hope of preventing the spread of the deadly influenza.
Subsequently, in 1926, McKesson & Robbins was sold to Frank D. Coster.
Public CompanyIncorporated: August 4, 1928 as McKesson & RobbinsEmployees: 17,200Sales: $6.285 billionMarket Value: $1.549 billionStock Index: New York
Meanwhile, 1929 sales had reached $140 million, and the company earned $4.1 million in profits.
Coster's true identity was revealed in 1938 when a company treasurer's concern over the way the profits were being handled led to an investigation of McKesson & Robbins.
In 1939 Coster shot himself, Brandino was convicted of blackmail, and McKesson & Robbins once again returned to the normal conduct of business.
Formed in 1959, Zee Medical provided occupational safety and first-aid products.
The company's calm and relatively quiet existence was intruded upon in 1967, however, when Foremost Dairies of California implemented a hostile takeover.
Careful, well-publicized research revealed that Sharon Steel Corporation had overstated its earnings for 1975 by 45 percent in order to support its takeover offer.
Thomas P. Drohan, who was elected president upon Morison's 1978 retirement, continued his predecessor's strategy.
Neil Harlan succeeded to the chairmanship of Foremost-McKesson in 1979.
1979: Armor All Products is acquired as McKesson enters the car protection products industry.
These practices in the early 1980's put Foremost-McKesson in the position of a leader in wholesale practices.
The acquisitions made in the early part of the 1980's were made to strengthen the company's role as a major distributor of health care products.
The company purchased its first chemical recycling plant in 1981, with plans to build six additional plants around the country.
In 1982 the drug distribution business contributed $2.1 billion to the company's $4 billion in sales.
The Foremost dairy operations were sold in 1982 and the name changed to McKesson Corporation but headquarters remained in San Francisco.
In 1983 McKesson acquired Zee Medical, Inc.
McKesson also sold Foremost Diaries in 1983, along with its food processing and homebuilding subsidiaries, all of which were 30% of the "old company's" assets.
1984: The company is renamed McKesson Corporation.
Acquisition has been a key component of McKesson's management strategy since 1984.
Harlan, a popular leader, retired in 1986 and was succeeded by Thomas W. Field, Jr., formerly of American Stores Co., a national grocery chain.
The company also raised funds for capital investments through the public offering of shares amounting to about 15 percent of subsidiary Armor All Products Corp. and a similar stake in prescription reimbursement division PCS Health Systems Inc. in 1986.
1986: McKesson Chemical Division is sold to Univar Corporation.
Although profits rose 33 percent and sales increased 46 percent over the course of CEO Field's term in office, he abruptly resigned in September 1989 amid difficulties related to McKesson's prescription reimbursement division, PCS Health Systems Inc.
A Wal-Mart executive praised McKesson for its innovative service and technological prowess that led to the renewal of a business relationship that began in 1989.
His objective was to streamline the company by selling its low-profit operations and investing $200 million into new businesses by 1990.
McKesson in 1990 sold about 120,000 different products ranging from over-the-counter medicines to prescription drugs.
1990: The company gains control of Medis Health and Pharmaceutical, Canada's major drug wholesaler.
McKesson acquired 100% shares in Medis Health from Provigo in the year 1991.
CEO Seelenfreund looked to McKesson's future in the company's annual report for 1993.
In 1993, Merck & Co., then the world's largest ethical drug company, bought Medco Containment, a rival drug distributor, for $6.6 billion.
The parent company moved to transform PCS into what Business Week called "a full-fledged medical-services-management company" through the early 1994 acquisition of Integrated Medical Systems Inc., an electronic network designed to connect doctors, hospitals, medical laboratories, and pharmacies.
Actelion profile and corporate video Actelion is a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology company established in December 1997, headquartered in Allschwil near Basel, Switzerland.
The merged business that began operations on January 13, 1999 was "the world's largest healthcare services company," according to a press release.
In 1999, McKesson acquired medical information systems firm HBO & Company (HBOC). The combined firm operated as McKessonHBOC for two years.
The company on July 24, 2000 announced it had signed a three-year contract with Wal-Mart Stores to continue providing pharmaceuticals for the chain of 1,773 Wal-Mart stores, 780 Supercenters, 466 SAM'S Clubs, and five Wal-Mart warehouses.
The company on July 24, 2000 announced it had signed a three-year contract with Wal-Mart Stores to continue providing pharmaceuticals for the chain of 1,773 Wal-Mart stores, 780 Supercenters, 466 SAM’S Clubs, and five Wal-Mart warehouses.
In September 2000 McKesson HBOC Information Technology Business signed an agreement to acquire the MED-Solution system of Montgomery, Alabama's Health Care Systems, Inc.
Including special items, the company in fiscal 2000 earned a net income of $723.7 million, up from $84.9 million the year before.
McKesson in late 2001 announced another expansion of its U.K. operations.
2001: The firm introduces Supply Management Online to increase its Internet capabilities.
Medis Health changed its name to McKesson Canada in the year 2002.
McKesson Provider Technologies acquired Medcon Ltd. in the year 2005.
McKesson is selected by the Center for Disease Control (CDC)to distribute vaccines for the Vaccines for Children Program to reach more than 1.8 million children via approximately 44,000 participating healthcare provider sites.2009 – H1N1 Flu poses a major threat to human health.
In 2010, McKesson acquired the oncology and physician services company US Oncology, Inc. for $2.16 billion, which was integrated into the McKesson Specialty Health business.
The company is currently operates with a turnaround of $122 billion as reported in year 2012.
On June 24, 2013, The Wall Street Journal reported that McKesson Chairman and CEO John Hammergren's pension benefits of $159 million had set a record for "the largest pension on file for a current executive of a public company, and almost certainly the largest ever in corporate America".
In 2014, McKesson acquired Celesio to become one of the world's largest health care companies, with over $179 billion in annual revenue.
In June 2016, McKesson announced plans to merge its IT business with Change Healthcare.
In February 2020, McKesson Corp announced that it would part ways with Change Healthcare.
"Mckesson Corporation ." International Directory of Company Histories. . Encyclopedia.com. (June 21, 2022). https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/mckesson-corporation-1
Rate how well McKesson lives up to its initial vision.
McKesson jobs
Do you work at McKesson?
Does McKesson communicate its history to new hires?
McKesson competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Health | 1971 | $226.8B | 48,000 | 6,536 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1886 | $88.8B | 134,500 | 1,478 |
| Owens & Minor | 1882 | $10.7B | 17,900 | 680 |
| UnitedHealth Group | 1977 | $400.3B | 300,000 | 9,079 |
| NCR | 1884 | $2.8B | 36,000 | 66 |
| Express Scripts Holding | 1986 | $100.1B | 26,600 | - |
| Danaher | 1969 | $23.9B | 80,000 | 1,833 |
| Gilead Sciences | 1987 | $28.8B | 11,800 | 649 |
| Cerner | 1979 | $5.8B | 26,400 | - |
| Ge Oec Medical Systems Inc | 1943 | $470.0M | 850 | - |
McKesson history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of McKesson, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about McKesson. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at McKesson. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by McKesson. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of McKesson and its employees or that of Zippia.
McKesson may also be known as or be related to McKesson, McKesson Corporation, McKesson Employees' Federal Credit Union, Mckesson and Olcott & McKesson (1833–1853) McKesson & Robbins (1853–1967) McKessonHBOC (1999–2001).