By Mark Williams
The Associated Press

DUBLIN, Ohio - The chief executive of one of Ohio's largest companies sits in the back of church each week, preferring not to draw attention.

"He's a quiet presence, but a very strong presence," Robert Walter's pastor, Monsignor Joseph Hendricks, said.

WALTER FILE

Name: Robert Walter Birth date: July 13, 1945 Job: Chairman and chief executive, Cardinal Health Inc. Education: Ohio University, bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering; Harvard Business School, master's degree in business administration. Family: Wife, Peggy, three sons and five grandchildren. Quote: "Very few times I've ever seen where you can make great gains without taking risks. A successful risk taker is someone who calculates the odds well." Distributor of drugs and other health care products to hospitals, retailers and other pharmacies. 2002 sales: $36.4 billion. 2002 profits: $1.1 billion.

CARDINAL HEALTH

• Maker and distributor of medical, surgical and laboratory products. 2002 sales: $6.3 billion. 2002 profits: $541 million. • Provider of services to developers and marketers of pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. 2002 sales: $1.3 billion. 2002 profits: $261 million. • Provider of automation and information products and services in hospitals and other health care facilities. 2002 sales: $560 million. 2002 profits: $209 million.

A low profile has served Walter well in business as he built Cardinal Health Inc. from a small food wholesaler into one of the nation's largest providers of health care products and services.

"We used to have a philosophy ... which is what I call kind of sneaking up on the competition," Walter, 57, said. "Nobody knows who you are."

But Walter admits that it's getting harder not to be noticed.

The suburban Columbus-based company best known for shipping drugs from manufacturers to pharmacies, retailers and hospitals is the 23rd largest company in the Fortune 500. A $1,000 investment in the company when it went public in 1983 would now be worth almost $60,000.

"I frankly can't go to a restaurant and somebody doesn't know who I am," he said. "The world's changed."

Walter founded what was called Cardinal Foods in 1971 when he bought a wholesale food distribution business in Columbus. With limited growth opportunities, Walter in 1980 began changing the company into a drug wholesaler.

By 1987, the drug business was almost twice the size of the food distribution business, which Cardinal sold the following year. Powered by more than 40 acquisitions, including one in 1994 that made Cardinal a national distributor, the company has increased share earnings of 20 percent or more for a remarkable 15 years.

As it became a dominant player in distribution, Cardinal Health also began to expand into manufacturing and distributing medical, surgical and laboratory products.

In its last fiscal year that ended June 30, earnings jumped 23 percent to $1.1 billion, compared with $857.4 million in 2001. Sales increased 15 percent to $44.4 billion from $38.7 billion.

In the first six months of fiscal 2003, the company's earnings rose 30 percent to $656 million from $459.6 million, while revenue was up 14 percent to $24.1 billion from $21 billion.

Walter said the company's success has been driven by focusing on customers and always setting higher goals.

He admits to being a risk-taker, but a calculated risk taker. It is a philosophy that is passed down the chain.

"Very few times I've ever seen where you can make great gains without taking risk," he said. "When we started out, we didn't have anything."

Walter, 57, lean and athletic looking, is married and has three children. He likes to play golf, ski and run. He is described as intense, focused, disciplined and competitive.

"In golf, he and I play, and it really sticks in his craw when I have the winning shot," chuckled childhood friend Richard Notebaert.

Notebaert, now chief executive of Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc., and Walter were high school classmates. Each went his own way after high school, but kept track of the other. In 2000, Walter asked Notebaert to join Cardinal's board.

"He runs a wonderful company. The attitude and morale of that company is a reflection of Bob," Notebaert said. "Bob never cared whether he got his name in the newspaper. In fact, he would prefer he didn't."

Analyst Michael Barr of Victory Capital Management said Walter "comes across as a very straight forward, trustworthy personality."

Barr pointed to how Cardinal handled its recent acquisition of Syncor International Corp. after it discovered that the company had made improper payments to customers overseas. The acquisition was completed, but not before the value of the deal was slashed and Syncor had to settle with federal regulators.

"That speaks exactly to his standards," Barr said.

"I emphasize to people around here to feel like owners," Walter said. "You don't want your own house to be tarnished. We just won't tolerate unethical standards or conduct."

Walter's passion is not limited to his work.

He and his wife, Peggy, led a fund-raising drive for the Diocese of Columbus that raised $47 million, beating the goal by $17 million, said Hendricks, pastor at St. Bridget of Kildare.

"Obviously, you could get blinded by all that stuff of corporate life," Hendricks said. "Bob likes to participate in making other people who are less fortunate better."