Rosalind Brewer Is Out as Walgreens CEO

Why It Issues: A messy pivot from pharmacy to well being providers.

Walgreens has been shifting away from pharmacy and retail to focus extra on well being care providers, with combined outcomes. The corporate’s shares sank additional on Friday, dropping to close a 14-year low. The corporate mentioned its revenue this yr can be “at or close to the low finish” of its forecasts.

“The group, which beforehand grew by means of numerous pharmacy acquisitions, is now seeking to consolidate and focus its efforts on the U.S. well being care sector,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, mentioned in an e mail. “Whereas the knowledge of this transfer is debatable, well being care isn’t Ms. Brewer’s forte.”

Earlier than becoming a member of Walgreens, Ms. Brewer was the chief working officer of Starbucks and beforehand served as chief govt of Sam’s Membership, a division of Walmart.

Along with opening extra docs’ places of work inside Walgreens shops, she oversaw the sophisticated rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine at pharmacies and enforcement of pandemic security requirements inside shops.

In an announcement, Ms. Brewer mentioned that she was happy with what she had completed and that the corporate was “on monitor to be a number one consumer-centric well being care firm.”

Quotable: ‘The worst time’ for an govt departure.

Ms. Brewer’s exit was introduced somewhat over a month after the corporate’s chief monetary officer, James Kehoe, left to change into a finance chief on the expertise agency FIS.

As Walgreens leans extra into the well being care enterprise, it faces a number of hurdles, trade consultants mentioned. In a observe to shoppers, Deutsche Financial institution’s analysts mentioned the challenges included managing tough pharmacy reimbursements, remodeling its enterprise mannequin to deal with major care and coping with opioid legal responsibility points.

“The departure of the 2 key executives comes at presumably the worst time,” the Deutsche Financial institution analysts wrote. “We can not recall a time in our protection expertise the place we’ve seen each the C.E.O. and the C.F.O. depart a large-cap firm in such a brief span the place there weren’t different points on the firm.”

What’s Subsequent: The seek for a everlasting successor.

Walgreens mentioned a seek for a everlasting chief was underway.

Stefano Pessina, the corporate’s govt chairman, mentioned in an announcement that Ms. Graham was the “ideally suited particular person to function interim C.E.O.” Ms. Graham was beforehand chief govt of Amylin Prescription drugs and chairman of Guidant. She began her profession at Eli Lilly.

It’s uncommon for a girl to switch one other feminine chief govt. This yr, gender range has fallen throughout the high ranks of retail corporations. Of the 86 retail corporations within the Fortune 1000, 13 had a girl as chief govt as of July, down barely from the yr earlier than, in response to Heidrick & Struggles, an govt recruiting agency.

Among the many Fortune 500, there are 50 feminine chief govt officers, in response to knowledge from Catalyst, which works with a whole bunch of corporations to advance the careers of girls.

Ms. Brewer’s departure leaves only one Black lady operating a Fortune 500 firm: Thasunda Duckett at TIAA, the funding agency.