A Walgreens signal is displayed on the window of considered one of its shops in Hollywood, California, on March 9, 2023.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Walgreens Boots Alliance has chosen veteran well being care govt Tim Wentworth as the corporate’s new chief govt.
Wentworth is the previous CEO of the nation’s largest pharmacy advantages administration firm, Express Scripts, which was acquired by Cigna in 2018. He stayed on and served as chief of Cigna’s well being providers, earlier than retiring on the of 2021.
“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 advised CNBC. “It’s a massive platform… they touch almost 10 million people a day.”
Wentworth will begin on Oct. 23, nearly two months after Roz Brewer stepped down as CEO, at a time when the corporate is going through numerous challenges in attempting to transition to changing into a supplier of well being providers past the pharmacy counter.
Under Brewer’s tenure, Walgreens took a serious stake in main care supplier VillageMD, acquired specialty pharmacy supplier Shields Health, in addition to homecare supplier CareCentrix. Trying to combine and scale the companies has pressured Walgreens’ earnings.
The transition has come at a time when pharmacy income has been pressured by falling demand for Covid vaccines and over-the-counter checks. In June, the corporate’s third-quarter earnings missed Wall Street estimates for the primary time in three years.
Walgreens’ board has stated they had been intent on hiring an govt with deep well being expertise who may rein in the entire new providers.
“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 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,” stated Wentworth.
Walgreens’ govt chairman Stefano Pessina stated 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.”
The firm’s core pharmacy enterprise can be going through challenges. This week, pharmacists in a number of cities have walked off the job to protest understaffing at pharmacies which the non-union staff say endangers sufferers.
Wentworth says throughout Covid the pharmacy chains pivoted rapidly to turn out to be main suppliers of vaccines and supported sufferers with data.
“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 stated. “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 is ready to report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday.
Source: www.cnbc.com”