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11-25-2024 7:37 pm • PDX and SEA Weather
MLK Breakfast
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) this week announced the appointment of Rosalind (Roz) Brewer as the company’s Chief Executive Officer, effective on March 15, 2021. She will be the company's first African American and first woman to lead as CEO.
Brewer will become the first Black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company since Ursula Burns, who stepped down as CEO of Xerox in 2016. Brewer's appointment comes only one week after the historic inauguration of the first Black woman Vice President of the United States.
"We are proud of the sizable progress Black women continue to make in leadership roles," says Crystal E. Ashby, interim president and CEO of The Executive Leadership Council (ELC). "We are also painfully aware that there is still so much work to be done," adds Ashby. "During my career, I have witnessed the number of Black CEOs dwindle from more than ten in the early 2000s to merely four in 2020.
"Until now, only one was a Black woman."
Brewer brings to Walgreens, a proven track record of leadership and operational expertise at multi-national corporations, with deep experience in strategic development, marketing, digital transformation and loyalty, innovation and technology, supply chain and store development. She most recently served as Chief Operating Officer, Group President and member of the Board of Directors of Starbucks Corporation, where she has been instrumental in helping the company accelerate its growth strategy, expand its global reach and drive value for all of Starbucks’ diverse stakeholders.
“The Board conducted an extensive search to identify an exceptional leader who will build on WBA’s track-record of success and take advantage of the many growth opportunities in many markets across the company. We are excited to have found that person in Roz,” said current CEO Stefano Pessina. “Her relentless focus on the customer, talent development, operational rigor and strong expertise in digital and technological transformation are exactly what WBA needs as the company enters its next chapter.”
“WBA is a world-class and trusted organization whose purpose I deeply admire,” said Brewer. “The healthcare industry is constantly evolving, and I am excited to work alongside the entire WBA team as we deliver further innovation and positively impact the lives of millions of people around the world every day.”
Prior to joining Starbucks, Brewer served as President and CEO of Sam’s Club, where she made history by becoming the first woman and first African American to lead a Walmart division. While there, she successfully grew membership, transformed merchandise and amplified the use of digital technology to enable a seamless shopping experience at scale, which led to sequentially improved comp sales.
Prior to Walmart, she was with Kimberly-Clark Corp. for 22 years, starting as a scientist and ultimately serving as president of the Global Nonwovens Sector in 2004. Brewer earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Spelman College and attended Wharton’s Advanced Management Program and Stanford University’s Directors’ College.
