Starbucks Chief Working Officer Rosalind Brewer will exchange Stefano Pessina as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, the pharmacy chain confirmed in a
Starbucks Chief Working Officer Rosalind Brewer will exchange Stefano Pessina as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, the pharmacy chain confirmed in an announcement Tuesday night.
Starbucks had introduced Brewer’s departure earlier within the day, saying she is leaving on the finish of February for a CEO place at an undisclosed publicly traded firm.
As CEO of Walgreens, Brewer would be the solely Black girl main a Fortune 500 firm.
Her departure from Starbucks comes as buyers, regulators and activists push for extra variety in company America. Nasdaq has proposed adjustments that may push for better racial and gender variety on the boards of publicly traded corporations listed on its change.
The Wall Road Journal first reported Brewer’s choice to hitch Walgreens.
Walgreens shares rose practically 8% in prolonged buying and selling on the information. The inventory is down 5% over the previous 12 months, bringing its market worth to $42.50 billion.
Pessina’s plans to step down
Pessina introduced his plans to step down as CEO in July. He is among the drugstore chain’s largest particular person buyers and plans to proceed to serve on the board as govt chairman.
Brewer joined Starbucks’ board in 2017 and have become its chief working officer later that yr after serving as CEO of Sam’s Membership, which is owned by Walmart. She was the primary Black girl to be COO of Starbucks and to go a division on the big-box retailer. Previous to her time at Walmart, she labored for shopper packaged items big Kimberly-Clark.
In her present position, Brewer offers with a variety of duties, from expertise initiatives to the creation of latest espresso drinks. She was extensively anticipated to be the successor to present CEO Kevin Johnson. After she leaves, her duties will probably be break up between CMO Brady Brewer and Rossann Williams, who serves as president of company-operated places within the U.S. and Canada.
Challenges forward at Walgreens
At Walgreens, Brewer will face quite a few challenges as the corporate seems to show round its enterprise and create new income streams. The pharmacy chain struggled within the early months of the pandemic as foot visitors dropped, notably at its Boots shops in the UK. The corporate reported earlier this month that gross sales had been selecting up however reiterated its outlook for low single-digit earnings progress.
The pharmacy chain has been reducing prices in some areas and investing in others. It closed tons of of Walgreens and Boots shops final yr and lower the scale of its workforce.
Walgreens’ greater rival, CVS Well being, acquired well being insurer Aetna and was faster to broaden in health-care providers. CVS opened Minute Clinics, and Walgreens has been enjoying catch-up.
Brewer additionally sits on the board of Amazon, an organization that is been reducing into drugstore gross sales each within the entrance of the shop in addition to behind the pharmacy counter as extra prospects purchase toothpaste and refill prescriptions on-line.
Amazon launched its personal pharmacy enterprise in November, providing perks akin to a financial savings program and free two-day supply to Prime members. It acquired on-line pharmacy PillPack in 2018.
Brewer is also chairwoman of Spelman School’s board of trustees and beforehand was a director at Lockheed Martin and Molson Coors Beverage.
Starbucks has additionally lately introduced the retirement of its CFO, Pat Grismer. He will probably be changed by Rachel Ruggeri, who serves as senior vp of finance for the Americas division, beginning Feb. 1.
Shares of Starbucks fell greater than 1% in prolonged buying and selling on Tuesday after the chain reported its fiscal first-quarter outcomes. It beat analyst estimates for its earnings, however its gross sales restoration within the U.S. faltered as Covid-19 circumstances elevated throughout the quarter.