The Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) awarded its Ivan D. Combe Lifetime Achievement Award to longtime industry leader Chris DeWolf at the opening session of its annual Self-Care Leadership Summit (SLS) March 19 in Texas.
According to a release, the Combe Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. consumer health care industry, which recognizes the outstanding work and contributions of individuals whose lifetime of achievements have created a lasting impact on the industry, their community, and have directly improved self-care for consumers.
Mr. DeWolf is a business leader with extensive experience in corporate finance and health care. He is the co-owner, president and CEO of Lil’ Drug Store Products, a Cedar Rapids-based supplier of health and beauty care products to over 180,000 retail locations, especially in convenience stores.
With more than 235 employees, Lil’ Drug Store Products has a diverse product portfolio that includes over-the-counter (OTC) medications and health-related items.
“It’s such an honor to recognize a remarkable industry leader like Chris, an honoree whose entrepreneurial spirit and strategic vision helped transform Lil’ Drug Store Products into a leading player in the consumer health care and personal care sectors,” CHPA president and CEO Scott Melville said. “As our awardee is always quick to note, this success is a testament to the joint business prowess of Chris, his wife Suzy, and their commitment to growing and diversifying their business, while contributing to the betterment of their community through an extensive range of philanthropic efforts.
Lil’ Drug Store Products has grown its annual sales from $25 million in 2000 to more than $500 million. Lil’ Drug Store Products has not only expanded its market presence but also brought significant new technology and capabilities to the company. Under Mr. DeWolf’s vision and leadership, the company has also established partnerships with top distributors to provide consumers access to an ever-expanding array of self-care products.
“Chris has been actively involved with CHPA for many years, serving from 2007 to 2018 on our Board of Directors, and back again in 2024 to present, including a term as Board Chair from 2009 to 2011,” Mr. Melville said. “His commitment to the consumer health care industry is undeniable and further demonstrated by his outstanding service to the CHPA Educational Foundation (now the Health in Hand Foundation) as a member of its board, including a term as foundation Board Chair from 2014 to 2019. It was under Chris’s guidance that the foundation made significant strides in public health education and advocacy, as well as in its own organization and financial sustainability, innovating and launching its first Gala, which has since become the annual flagship industry-wide event and fundraiser. Chris’ overall involvement with CHPA, our foundation, and the broader industry showcases his dedication to advancing consumer health care.”
Mr. DeWolf has also made a lasting impact on his community. He and his wife have received multiple honors and accolades for their work in entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and business, including the Howard Hall Excellence in Business Award and recognition by The Association of Fundraising Professionals as Outstanding Individual Philanthropist of the Year in 2020.
Mr. DeWolf also contributes his time and talent as a board member for the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business, Mercycare Service Corporation, Swinetech, Inc., a technology company dedicated to improving livestock welfare, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, and the 2001 Development Corporation to bring economic development to his hometown of Cedar Rapids. He earned a B.B.A. from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Mr. DeWolf received the Combe Award during CHPA’s SLS, which was attended by his family, peers, and more than 340 leadership executives from the consumer health care industry.
The Combe Award is named in honor of Ivan D. Combe, an industry pioneer and visionary who served on CHPA’s board of directors from 1958 until 2000. It is presented annually to one individual who, through a lifetime commitment to advancing consumer health care, has exhibited three core attributes: business excellence and a passion for improving the lives of health care consumers, leadership and involvement in industry activities, and a commitment to giving back to the community.
