Ayotte is the Senior Vice President of Pharmacy, Transformation and Advocacy at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS).

Mike is a Pharmacist and a lifelong learner, brings extensive and deep knowledge of pharmacy and health care with 39 years of experience. He began his career as a pharmacist for People’s Drug Store. He worked his way up, becoming a pharmacy store manager, pharmacy supervisor, regional health care manager, and into Government Affairs.

He then used his clinical and operations background to government affairs to help expand the understanding and awareness of the value of pharmacy and to affect positive policy changes. As the Vice President of State and Local Government Affairs for the enterprise, he led CVS Health in an expansion of the state Government Affairs team, as the corporation expanded into new markets and new business units. He has testified, and presented extensively on pharmacy innovation, management of health care costs through pharmacy programs, improving patient outcomes through medication adherence, and removing barriers to create more efficient operating environments

Prior to his joining NACDS he served as a consultant after leaving his leadership role at CVS Health where he was a leader in integrating CVS Health and Aetna Government Affairs teams.

Mike is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and the Public Affairs Institute. He has also served as on the Virginia Board of Pharmacy for 8 years, including being Board Chair.