Walgreens Boots Alliance has appointed Tim Wentworth as its new CEO and member of the board, effective October 23, after Rosalind Brewer stepped down last month.
Wentworth was most recently founding CEO of Evernorth, Cigna’s health services organisation. Prior to Cigna, he was CEO of Express Scripts, having grown it into a Fortune 22 company with more than $100 billion in revenue.
Wentworth previously led Medco’s employer and key accounts organisations for nearly 14 years and served as president and CEO of Accredo, Medco’s specialty pharmacy.
Walgreens said Wentworth joins the company at a pivotal time as it focuses on right-sizing the business, while driving execution and creating greater value.
“The WBA board has been focused on bringing in a CEO with deep healthcare experience, and we are pleased to welcome Tim Wentworth as the company’s new CEO. He is an accomplished and respected leader with profound expertise in the payer and pharmacy space as well as supply chain, IT and human resources,” said Stefano Pessina, executive chairman at Walgreens.
Following the appointment, Ginger Graham, who has led the company during the interim period, will resume her role as the board’s lead independent director.
“Solid hire”
Neil Saunders, MD of GlobalData, described Wentworth’s appointment as a “solid hire”, as the company has lacked focus and been “too scattergun” in its various activities.
“We have no doubt that Mr Wentworth can bring clarity to the healthcare side of the business and propel efforts around the push into primary care.
“Modernizing prescription services, both online and in stores via automation, will also be another focus area. This needs to be done alongside improving job satisfaction for pharmacists.”
He said it is also important to focus on the retail side of the business, and Wentworth is capable of putting in place a management team that can drive changes.
Walgreens is an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail leader serving millions of customers and patients every day, with 13,000 locations across the US, Europe and Latin America.
