A Walgreens sign is displayed on the window of one in all its stores in Hollywood, California, on March 9, 2023.
Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Walgreens Boots Alliance has chosen veteran health care executive Tim Wentworth as the corporate’s latest chief executive.
Wentworth is the previous CEO of the nation’s largest pharmacy advantages 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 on the of 2021.
“What made me determine to come back back was a probability to guide this iconic brand and company at a time when it is not in a gradual state,” Wentworth told CNBC. “It’s a large platform… they touch almost 10 million people a day.”
Wentworth will start on Oct. 23, almost two months after Roz Brewer stepped down as CEO, at a time when the corporate is facing numerous challenges in attempting to transition to becoming a provider of health services beyond the pharmacy counter.
Under Brewer’s tenure, Walgreens took a significant stake in primary care provider VillageMD, acquired specialty pharmacy provider Shields Health, in addition to homecare provider CareCentrix. Attempting to integrate and scale the companies has pressured Walgreens’ earnings.
The transition has come at a time when pharmacy revenue has been pressured by falling demand for Covid vaccines and over-the-counter tests. In June, the corporate’s third-quarter profits missed Wall Street estimates for the primary time in three years.
Walgreens’ board has said they were intent on hiring an executive with deep health experience who could rein in the entire latest services.
“I got here from one in all the good efficiency firms at Express Scripts — I mean, we were built to drive out waste from health care and and we checked out all the things through that lens. And that has to do by starting with our own cost structure, and there is not any query inside this company that is every bit as essential,” said Wentworth.
Walgreens’ executive chairman Stefano Pessina said Wentworth “is an completed and revered leader with profound expertise within the payer and pharmacy space in addition to supply chain, IT and Human Resources. We’re confident he’s the best person to guide WBA’s next phase of growth right into a customer-centric healthcare company.”
The corporate’s core pharmacy business can be facing challenges. This week, pharmacists in several cities have walked off the job to protest understaffing at pharmacies which the non-union staff say endangers patients.
Wentworth says during Covid the pharmacy chains pivoted quickly to grow to be major providers of vaccines and supported patients with information.
“While you’re in a business that is having to reply that quickly to something that’s that unusual. You do not get all of it right. And I actually have little doubt that the leadership at Walgreens is looking and listening to their folks,” he said. “As a frontrunner, I can let you know, there’s nothing that motivates me greater than ensuring every worker seems like they’re supported in that mission.”
Walgreens is about to report fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday.