The nameplate outside George Paz's windlowless office, no bigger than any other at Express Scripts, carries his name, but no title.
The mustachioed chairman and chief executive eats in the company cafeteria, and parks his Audi sedan in an unreserved, lower-level spot. He knows a surprising number of his employees on a first-name basis, stopping occasionally to chat them up.
Even with Thursday's announcement that Express Scripts plans to buy a leading rival, Medco Health Solutions, Paz eschews the spotlight — crediting his senior executives.
"He's kind of laid-back when you meet him," said Tom George, chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë, on whose north St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë County campus Express Scripts built its corporate headquarters. "So he's very personable. He gets along very well with people, and has built a great team ... He's believes in the community ethic, that we're all in this together."
People are also reading…
But the CEO of the St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë-based powerhouse also presides over a company that is fast becoming legendary for its relentless cost-cutting and bold acquisitions. The Medco purchase, for $29 billion in cash and stock, would create the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager and one of its largest companies of any kind.
If Paz seems outwardly warm and friendly, he conducts his business much more aggressively. In an interview Friday, he acknowledged the essential tension between his consensus-centric management style — "I don't believe in dictating" — and the pressure he feels in driving employees hard to stay ahead in a hypercompetitive and cost-conscious industry.
A former accountant, his core strength lies in working the numbers, which he displays through a passion for holding back the rising tide of prescription drug costs.
He operates in a fast-paced, constantly changing world of razor-thin operating margins (about 3 cents on a dollar) and fierce competition for contracts to manage the health prescriptions for companies, government agencies and health insurers.
Paz, 55, has a commanding presence, but not a military bearing. He's often seen in khakis and loafers, and will ask, before big meetings, "Do I have to suit up?"
When Paz and his senior executives addressed hundreds of employees in the cafeteria just a few hours after the merger announcement Thursday, the buzz was said to be palpable. Paz, sporting black suspenders, took the microphone, leading a victory rally with lots of cheering.
It was not unlike the quarterly meetings that Paz holds to spur his employees, but this time the company stood poised to take a giant leap — acquiring a chief rival for the third time since 1998, when Paz joined the company as chief financial officer.
"What makes me most proud of Express Scripts is the people," Paz said Friday. "Our people are passionate, they're motivated, and dedicated to their cause. We're driving waste out of health care."
Paz's collaborative management style seems imbued in the company's ethic. Conducting meetings, he makes sure to hear from everybody. He makes decisions fast, not dithering nor agonizing. He's not known as a yeller, but can get steamed when an employee falls short.
Paz's grandfather brought the family up from Mexico, and the family settled in Collinsville. The future CEO grew up in Metro East, and attended high school in O'Fallon, Mo. Paz and his brother were the first in their family to attend college.
Paz attended UMSL, where he studied accounting, He later became a partner at Coopers and Lybrand before joining Express Scripts.
"He has a real passion for what that company can bring," said Ward Klein, president of Civic Progress, a St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë-based nonprofit that promotes economic development and social issues. But Paz, said Klein, displays "genuine humility."
"Every time you congratulate George on the company's success, he says: 'It's the team,'" he said.
Klein also praised Paz's community involvement. Paz chairs Civic Progress' education committee. He is also chairman of the board of the Logos School in Olivette, which provides troubled teens with an alternate pathway through high school.
In addition, he chairs UMSL's fundraising campaign. Paz's upbringing may help explain his deep sense of patriotism and strong commitment to his community. Simply put, he still believes America allows hard workers to rocket past their humble roots.
As chairman and chief executive, Paz earned about $10.3 million last year. Last November, he also cashed out about $43 million in Express Scripts stock options accumulated in previous years.
Paz explains that his compensation is based on how much money the company makes for shareholders, and that Express Scripts' profits rise when it saves money for clients. The company's managers and executives also receive bonuses that are pegged to the company's financial performance in meeting its goals.
Express Scripts raked in $45 billion in revenue in 2010, and reported $1.2 billion in profits.
Paz lives in Clayton with his wife, Melissa, a tax attorney, and jokes often about "the accountant and tax lawyer." They have three children and five grandchildren. An avid skier, he owns a home on a Colorado mountain. He plays an occasional round of golf at the Norwood Hills Country Club in north St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë County.
His political views are conservative, but he also seems to enjoy the company of moderate and liberal Democrats, including Sen. Claire McCaskill and Gov. Jay Nixon. Politicians occasionally show up at his home for dinner.
Energetic and hard working, if a tad shy, Paz has shown no signs of slowing down. He hops on the Express Scripts corporate jet for daylong business trips to New York and Washington, where he calls on financiers and other big shots. Once in a while, he breaks away from work to visit his far-flung children and their kids.
"I have the best management team in the country," Paz said. "I have the best players, and all I have to do is conduct them. And it's the best job in America."
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story misstated where Paz went to high school. This version has been corrected.