Dive Brief:
- Walgreens is considering appointing former Cigna executive Tim Wentworth as its new chief executive officer, according to Bloomberg.
- The retail health giant is still considering other options for the job and has yet to make a final decision, the outlet reported Friday, citing sources familiar.
- Early last month, Walgreens unexpectedly announced the departure of CEO Roz Brewer, less than three years after her appointment.
Dive Insight:
Walgreens has struggled this year amid lower demand for COVID-19 tests and vaccines, along with flagging front-store sales. The Illinois-based retailer laid off 10% of its corporate workforce in May, one month before posting third-quarter earnings results that missed Wall Street expectations.
Walgreens cut its 2023 outlook along with the results, causing its stock to plummet to its lowest point in more than a decade. Three months later, the company’s stock further fell to its lowest point since 1999 after Walgreens announced Brewer’s departure.
Walgreens said it plans to replace Brewer — a veteran of retailers Starbucks and Walmart — with an executive who has “deep healthcare experience” as the company continues its strategic pivot to healthcare services.
Wentworth led pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts before Cigna acquired that business for $67 billion in 2018. At Cigna, Wentworth was CEO of Cigna’s fledgling health services arm Evernorth.
The executive retired from Cigna in 2021, but his employment officially ended in February 2022. Wentworth is currently subject to a two-year noncompete agreement that expires in February 2024, according to Bloomberg.
Walgreens declined to comment for this article.
