After more than 37,000 reader votes, England’s chief pharmaceutical officer Keith Ridge was named the most influential individual in community pharmacy (see full top five below).

To create the top 50 ranking, a shortlist of 100 individuals was selected from suggestions by readers and the C+D team. An app on C+D's homepage then selected pairs of the 100 individuals at random, and readers were able to vote for which of the two they thought was the most influential.

The final list of 50 included 11 representatives from pharmacy bodies, nine multiple executives or pharmacists, five independent pharmacists, four politicians and 14 individuals from the Department of Health, the NHS or regulatory bodies.

A new list needed

In the three years since the app was launched, a lot has changed in the sector – including many of the biggest players. We now have a new pharmacy minister (for the second time since 2013), and new top brass at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the National Pharmacy Association, to name but a few.

It makes 2017 the perfect time to launch a new and improved version of the app.

But before we do that, we need your suggestions for who to include in our shortlist of 100 names. These may be individuals who work in community pharmacy at a local or national level, or those have influence the sector from the outside.

Leave your comment below, email [email protected], or tweet @ChemistDruggist with the hashtag #Pharmacy50.

Once this shortlist has been finalised, they will be added to the app, for you to vote on.

Who were the top five most influential people in pharmacy in 2013?

1. Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer, NHS England

2. Rob Darracott, chief executive, Pharmacy Voice

3. Duncan Rudkin, chief executive, General Pharmaceutical Council

4. Helen Gordon, chief executive, Royal Pharmaceutical Society

5. Mike Holden, chief executive (at the time), National Pharmacy Association