From the CEO
Daniel Mulloy | Chief Executive Officer , ARTA
If you can ’ t go straight ahead , you go around the corner .
– Cher
Life is funny . Just when you think you ’ re going in one direction , life points you in another .
It ’ s amazing how you can end up in a different place than you thought you would , despite all your efforts to get to the place you wanted to go . Then again , the new place you ’ re at now may , in fact , be better .
Over the last year , ARTA ’ s journey was supposed to go in a relatively known direction . Plans were put into place . Our assumptions and contingency plans put us in a certain place at a certain time . But then , change happened . Although you plan for hurdles , sometimes you can ’ t see things ahead on the path . Out of nowhere , you turn a hidden corner , and you ’ re pointed in a different direction . Sometimes these turns and changes are welcome , but there are times when they are not . We have all gone through dramatic changes over the last few years that have pushed us in new directions : changes that we didn ’ t want but have done our best to manage ; changes that have been painful but somehow necessary for us to get where we are today .
I know changes happen and no journey is without challenges , but I would say the last year has been one of the most difficult of my professional career . That ’ s not to say it hasn ’ t yielded some positive results . We are blazing new trails — unexpected turns notwithstanding — with significant changes to our benefit plans , to our administration , and to the future of ARTA through the creation of the first ever plan-owned pharmacy in Canada . While the journey has not been easy , I believe the destination will be well worth it .
It ’ s profound to say that if you can ’ t go straight ahead , you go around the corner . Really , what other options do you have ? Sometimes going back is not an option and stopping is definitely not , so you change direction .
When you make that change in direction , your new destination may in fact be the best destination ; maybe not the one you envisioned , but the one where you ’ re meant to be .
As we set off into 2022 , I look forward to the new direction and new destination . While I know every straight line may have a hidden corner , I look forward to the new and exciting challenges that are just around that corner . Yours in service , news & views SPRING 2022 | 7