Conversations with Distinguished Alumni: Andy Mills '85

Join Dean Francesca Cornelli as she hosts Andy Mills, president of Medline Industries, Inc. 
 

Click here to register.
 

As COVID-19 began to spread rapidly throughout the country in March 2020, an Illinois-based family-owned firm was thrust into prominence. Although they’d been making basic medical supplies for over 100 years, they immediately ramped up production to meet the demands of a public in need.

Join Dean Francesca Cornelli as she hosts Andy Mills, president of Medline Industries, Inc. and one of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020. Together, they will discuss the effects of the pandemic on his business, his leadership journey, and the role Kellogg has played in his life.

Please register in advance. The Zoom link will be provided upon registration.

Hosted by Kellogg Alumni Relations, this monthly virtual series is open to all Kellogg alumni.

Andy Mills is president of Medline Industries, Inc., the largest privately held healthcare supplier in the United States.
 

Since becoming president in 1997, Mills has focused on expanding the categories and markets in which Medline competes, as well as delivering continual innovation through the growth of the company’s portfolio of clinical products and programs. Mills holds 11 granted patents and has three pending.
 

Medline has long been at the industry forefront through innovation. Their history of delivering new-to-world solutions dates back to the 1930s when they manufactured the first colored surgical gowns designed to reduce glare from operating room lights. Medline continues to develop and implement innovative processes and solutions today, even recently redefining the traditional provider-supplier relationship through value-based reimbursement models.
 

Mills believes that strategic partnerships between suppliers and providers are critical for helping healthcare run better. He challenges the organization to find new ways of investing and collaborating to implement initiatives that can deliver better care and improve efficiencies and cost-effectiveness. This focus has seen Medline transforming from product manufacturer and distributor to one of an integrated partner.
 

Medline has remained equally focused on their workforce, receiving numerous employer-of-choice awards including being named a “Best Large Employer” by Forbes (2019 and 2021), one of the “Top 150 Places to Work in Healthcare” by Becker’s Healthcare (2015, 2017-2020) and a “Top Workplace” in the Chicagoland area by the Chicago Tribune eleven times (2010, 2012-2021).
 

Mills started with Medline in 1986 as a sales representative in Dallas, Texas, and then launched Medline’s O.R. product division before moving on to lead the company’s marketing department. Prior to Medline, Mills worked in brand management at Procter & Gamble. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Tulane University and earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He currently serves as a trustee of the Rush University Medical Center board.
 

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