Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of retail pharmacy chain Walgreens in the U.S. and Boots in the U.K., has named Cigna executive Tim Wentworth as its new CEO, according to Bloomberg.
This decision comes amid Walgreens’ attempt to ditch the retail industry and move in on the healthcare industry. This strategy is also being pursued by CVS, which acquired Aetna Insurance for a total of $78 billion in 2018.
Wentworth was previously the CEO of pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, and oversaw its $67 billion merger with health insurance group Cigna in 2018. He went on to become the CEO of Cigna’s Evernorth health services segment, which combined Express Scripts with MDLive and other entities.
JUST IN: Walgreens appoints health-care veteran Tim Wentworth to be its next CEO, as the company seeks to get back on track after falling behind rival CVS https://t.co/KqjXT14sh3
— Bloomberg (@business) October 11, 2023
“We are confident he is the right person to lead WBA’s next phase of growth into a customer centric healthcare company,” former CEO and executive chairman Stefano Pessina said in a news release. The release also said Wentworth would be confirmed by Oct. 23 and will be joining the Walgreens Boots Alliance board.
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Walgreens lost half of its stock value under former CEO Rosalind Brewer as it attempted to push into the healthcare industry. Brewer’s strategy was perceived to be strong by analysts, but did not win over the confidence of investors. During her tenure, she was known for putting $5.2 billion into primary care provider Village MD in order to create more doctors’ offices in Walgreens stores.
After two and a half years, Brewer left the company suddenly at the end of August. In response, Walgreens had said they would be seeking a new CEO with “deep healthcare experience.”
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