Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind “Roz” Brewer — the first African American, and first woman, to lead the company — has stepped down.
Brewer, who will advise Walgreens as it conducts a search for her replacement, is also stepping down from her board seat. Her departure — the result of a mutual agreement between Brewer and the board — was effective Thursday. The Deerfield-based retail pharmacy chain announced her departure in a Friday morning news release.
Ginger Graham, the company’s lead independent director, will serve as interim CEO.
“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead Walgreens Boots Alliance and to work alongside such talented and dedicated colleagues,” Brewer said in the news release. “Over the past several years, we have recruited a world class team to WBA, including the first-ever Chief Customer Officer and the first-ever President of U.S. Healthcare, and invested deeply in the improvement of the Company’s overall culture. I am confident that WBA is on track to be a leading consumer-centric healthcare company, serving thousands of communities across the country, especially those that need access to healthcare the most.”
Brewer, who previously served as chief operating officer of Starbucks, was tapped as Walgreens’ CEO in January 2021, just as COVID-19 vaccines were becoming available.
“Roz navigated the Company through the global pandemic, overseeing the critical rollout of vaccines in Walgreens pharmacies and to high-risk populations across the country,” Walgreens’ Executive Chair Stefano Pessina said in the news release. “She furthered our consumer-facing capabilities while supporting the culture of community and team-member engagement in difficult times. We appreciate her hard work and commitment to the Company during this period of unprecedented change.”
Walgreens has been striving in recent years to transform into a health care destination, to compete with rivals like CVS Health. Graham, who will serve as interim CEO, has held leadership positions across the health care industry. She served as CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals and held a leadership role at Guidant Corp., a cardiology medical technology firm. Graham has served on Walgreens’ board since 2010.