Hendrik Van Der Linde, BPharm, IPS
Hendrik Van Der Linde is a seasoned pharmacy executive and healthcare leader with more than three decades of experience in retail pharmacy operations, clinical services, and community healthcare. A graduate of North-West University in South Africa with a Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) degree, he began his career as a pharmacist in Johannesburg before co-founding and helping build a family-operated retail pharmacy chain in South Africa. His success in pharmacy management led to recruitment by Savon Albertsons in the United States, where he quickly advanced into leadership positions and established a reputation for operational excellence, team development, and patient-centered care.
Throughout his career, Hendrik has held progressively senior leadership roles with major healthcare organizations, including CVS Health and Rite Aid. He served as a Licensed Regional Leader for Rite Aid, overseeing pharmacy operations across more than 50 locations in California, before returning to CVS Health as District Leader, Pharmacy. In his current role, he leads pharmacy operations across 18 locations in the Fort Worth, Texas area, managing clinical services, community outreach initiatives, workforce development programs, and operational performance. His expertise spans pharmacy operations, medication therapy management, healthcare administration, immunization programs, diabetes education, and specialty medication access, with a strong focus on improving healthcare delivery in underserved and rural communities.
A passionate advocate for public health, Hendrik played a pivotal leadership role during the COVID-19 pandemic, coordinating large-scale vaccination and testing efforts throughout California's Inland Empire. Under his leadership, pharmacy teams administered approximately 140,000 vaccines within a four-month period while operating community clinics in schools, arenas, and remote rural regions. These efforts earned recognition from the California Legislature and numerous professional honors. Beyond operational leadership, Hendrik is deeply committed to mentoring pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, helping them advance their careers and expand access to quality healthcare. His leadership philosophy centers on developing people, strengthening communities, and ensuring that patients have affordable and timely access to the medications and services they need.
• North-West University - BPharm
• Certified Diabetes Trainer
• Immunization Certification
• Integrative Pharmacy Specialist
• Rite Aid Regional Pharmacy Leader Award
• California Legislature Assembly Certificate of Recognition
• Certificate of Congressional Recognition
• CVS Paragon District Winner 2008
Areas of Specialization/Expertise
- Pharmacy Operations Management
- Healthcare Administration and Leadership
- Community Pharmacy Practice
What do you enjoy most about practicing medicine?
What I love most about pharmacy is having direct access to the community. I'm passionate about helping people proactively and preventing disease, especially with the five major disease states. If you diagnose it early and start people treating them proactively, it saves your country billions of dollars. I love dealing with people and medicine. When I started off, I was very involved with sports and saw how medicine impacts sports, both good and bad, and also how in the healthcare system, if you help people proactively and prevent them, it can make such a difference. But I'm also aware of how the industry can be impacted negatively if you don't care appropriately for your people, especially if it's just for financial reasons. For me, it's all about taking care of the community as best I can and impacting the pharmacists around me. I want to make young pharmacists better pharmacists for the future. I think that's my best contribution. Right now, I'm especially focused on impacting the industry when it comes to drug costs and drug availability, making sure every single person in the country has access to affordable medication, especially specialty drugs which are extraordinarily expensive.