Based in Holbrook, New York, Darren Volkes serves as Guaranteed Returns (GRx) executive vice president and guides one of the country’s top pharmaceutical reverse distributors. Having helped establish the firm in the mid-1980s, Darren Volkes led a company with a pioneering focus on helping pharmacies and community hospitals avoid the headaches associated with pharmaceutical returns.

When this proved a useful and popular service, Mr. Volkes and the GRx team set the ground rules for the industry. In addition to clearing the shelves of damaged, short dated, expired or recalled pharmaceuticals, his firm oversaw a regulation-compliant returns process that placed money back in clients’ accounts. Among his achievements as sales executive was securing a Veterans Administration and Department of Defense contract valued at $30 million that involved the seamless processing of returned pharmaceuticals across the globe.

Mr. Volkes also had a primary role in negotiating an acquisition of Easy Returns Worldwide, his firm’s largest competitor. He subsequently oversaw its integration with the subsidiary organization GRx Inventory, a hospital pharmaceutical inventory company..Active as a change agent, he worked to build robust customer relationships and ultimately pushed the firm past the $50 million sales threshold. A fitness enthusiast, Darren Volkes takes time to cycle and workout on a regular basis, and is a seasonal “all mountain” skier.