Walgreens new CEO is veteran health-care executive Tim Wentworth. Walgreens Boots Alliance has chosen veteran health care executive Tim Wentworth as the company’s new CEO starting Oct 23.
Wentworth is the former CEO of the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits management company, Express Scripts, which was acquired by Cigna in 2018. He stayed on and served as chief of Cigna’s health services, before retiring in 2021.
Walgreens on new CEO
Walgreens’ board has said they were intent on hiring an executive with deep health experience who could rein in all of its new services.
“What made me decide to come back was a chance to lead this iconic brand and company at a time when it’s not in a steady state,” Wentworth told on becoming Walgreens new CEO. “It’s a massive platform… they touch almost 10 million people a day.”
Walgreens new CEO Wentworth
Wentworth will start as Walgreens new CEO on Oct 23, almost two months after Roz Brewer stepped down as CEO, at a time when the company is facing a number of challenges in trying to transition to becoming a provider of health services beyond the pharmacy counter.
Under Brewer’s tenure, Walgreens took a major stake in primary care provider VillageMD, acquired specialty pharmacy provider Shields Health, as well as homecare provider CareCentrix. Trying to integrate and scale the businesses has pressured Walgreens’ profit earnings.
Walgreens first earnings miss in three years
The transition by Walgreens board has come at a time when pharmacy revenue has been pressured by falling demand for Covid vaccines and over-the-counter tests. In June, Walgreens Q3 earnings profits missed Wall Street estimates for the first time in three years.
Walgreens’ board has said they were intent on hiring an executive with deep health experience who could rein in all of the new services.
Wentworth brings experience
“I came from one of the great efficiency companies at Express Scripts. I mean, we were built to drive out waste from health care and we looked at everything through that lens. And that has to do by starting with our own cost structure, and there’s no question inside this company that’s every bit as important,” said Wentworth.
Walgreens’ executive chairman Stefano Pessina said Wentworth “is an accomplished and respected leader with profound expertise in the payer and pharmacy space as well as supply chain, IT and Human Resources. We are confident he is the right person to lead WBA’s next phase of growth into a customer-centric healthcare company.”
Challenges faced by Walgreens
The company’s core pharmacy business is also facing challenges. This week, pharmacists in several cities have walked off the job to protest understaffing at pharmacies which the non-union workers say endangers patients.
Wentworth says during Covid the drugstore chains pivoted quickly to become major providers of vaccines and supported patients with information.
“When you’re in a business that’s having to respond that quickly to something that is that unusual. You don’t get it all right. And I have no doubt that the leadership at Walgreens is taking a look and listening to their folks,” he said. “As a leader, I can tell you, there’s nothing that motivates me more than ensuring every employee feels like they’re supported in that mission.”
Walgreens Q4 earnings
Walgreens Q4 earnings are to be announced on Thursday.
