Current:Home > BackWalgreens CEO Roz Brewer resigns after less than 3 years on the job-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer resigns after less than 3 years on the job
View Date:2024-12-23 23:14:43
Walgreens Boots Alliance said Friday that CEO Rosalind "Roz" Brewer is stepping down after less than three years at the helm of the global pharmacy chain.
Walgreens named Ginger Graham, an independent director on the company's board, as interim chief executive. Brewer, who is also relinquishing her seat on the board, will continue to advise the retailer while it searches for a permanent CEO, the company said.
Brewer assumed the top post at Walgreens in March of 2021. She previously served as chief operating officer and group president at Starbucks as well as president and CEO of Walmart-owned Sam's Club, among other corporate positions.
In announcing her exit, Walgreens credited Brewer with leading its efforts to quickly offer mass vaccinations during the pandemic.
"She built and led a team to stand up the technology for a vaccine scheduling system, created a safe operating model for store labor, and developed a plan to drive vaccine equity," said the company, which also highlighted Walgreens' strategic shift to focus more on offering health care services under Brewer's watch.
Steered company through opioid lawsuits
Brewer's tenure as CEO also saw Walgreens resolve litigation regarding its role, along with other major pharmacy chains, in the opioid crisis. In 2022, Walgreens agreed to pay nearly $5 billion over 15 years as part of a multi-state settlement, while more recently the company in May agreed to pay San Francisco nearly $230 million to settle a case over its distribution of the powerful drugs.
Opioids have been linked to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people around the world.
Brewer is exiting as Walgreens veers away from selling products to focus more on health care, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, noting that the retail business "is simply not an area that Walgreens wants to pursue" to drive growth.
"Health care is a lucrative sector, and Walgreens is not wrong to see it as a major part of its future playbook," he said. "However, the new permanent CEO will need to remember that it is possible to invest in both health care and retail. It should not be an either/or decision."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- In:
- Walgreens
Alain Sherter covers business and economic affairs for CBSNews.com.
TwitterveryGood! (25929)
Related
- Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
- Jonathan Bailey's Fate on Bridgerton Season 4 Revealed
- Police: 2 dead in Tennessee interstate crash involving ambulance
- Save Big at Banana Republic Factory With $12 Tanks, $25 Shorts & $35 Dresses, Plus up to 60% off Sitewide
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly decline, shrugging off Wall Street’s overnight rally
- Can AI truly replicate the screams of a man on fire? Video game performers want their work protected
- Christina Hall and Taylor El Moussa Enjoy a Mother-Daughter Hair Day Amid Josh Hall Divorce
- Paris Hilton Speaks Out After “Heartbreaking” Fire Destroys Trailer on Music Video Set
- Nicole Kidman Reveals the Surprising Reason for Starring in NSFW Movie Babygirl
- As political convention comes to Chicago, residents, leaders and activists vie for the spotlight
Ranking
- Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Ava Phillippe Introduces Adorable New Family Member
- General Hospital's Cameron Mathison Shares Insight Into Next Chapter After Breakup With Wife Vanessa
- Sydney Sweeney's Cheeky Thirst Trap Is Immaculate
- Jennifer Garner Proves She's Living Her Best Life on Ex Ben Affleck's Birthday
- Burt Bacharach, composer of classic songs, will have papers donated to Library of Congress
- Paris Hilton Speaks Out After “Heartbreaking” Fire Destroys Trailer on Music Video Set
- A hunter’s graveyard shift: grabbing pythons in the Everglades
- Infant dies after being discovered 'unresponsive' in hot vehicle outside Mass. day care
Recommendation
-
John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
-
Dodgers All-Star Tyler Glasnow lands on IL again
-
Minnesota Vikings bolster depleted secondary, sign veteran corner Stephon Gilmore
-
Lawsuit: Kansas school employee locked teen with Down syndrome in closet, storage cage
-
Surfer Bethany Hamilton Makes Masked Singer Debut After 3-Year-Old Nephew’s Tragic Death
-
Inside Mark Wahlberg's Family World as a Father of 4 Frequently Embarrassed Kids
-
New York's beloved bodega cats bring sense of calm to fast-paced city
-
San Francisco goes after websites that make AI deepfake nudes of women and girls