Walgreens said Tuesday that it has appointed Starbucks CEO Roz Brewer as its new CEO, making her the only black woman to run a Fortune 500 company.
Starbucks announced on Tuesday that Brewer would be leaving after just over three years as chief operating officer. Walgreens later confirmed that Brewer will take over as CEO on March 15.
Brewer succeeds Stefano Pessina, who served as CEO for six years following the merger between Walgreens and Alliance Boots in 2014. Pessina will transition to Executive Chairman of the Board of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.
Pessina praised Brewer’s expertise in operations, customer relationships, talent development and digital innovation.
“She is a distinguished and experienced executive who has guided organizations worldwide through periods of changing consumer behavior by applying innovation that improves customer experiences,” said Pessina.
At Starbucks, Brewer has remodeled stores, eliminated clutter, and reduced administrative work, so employees could focus on customers and speed up service. She helped grow the Starbucks rewards program and pushed for more diversity in the ranks.
Prior to joining Starbucks, Brewer was president and CEO of Sam’s Club, Walmart Inc.’s member-only warehouse channel. She also expanded the membership and improved the merchandise there.
Prior to that, Brewer spent 22 years at Kimberly-Clark Corp. Brewer __ who has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Spelman College __ started at Kimberly-Clark as a scientist and eventually served as president of the Global Nonwovens Sector.
Brewer said she is excited to innovate in healthcare at Walgreens, especially as the company helps fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am stepping into this role with a lot of optimism for the future of WBA,” Brewer said in a statement.
Based in Deerfield, Illinois, Walgreens says it employs more than 450,000 people and has more than 21,000 stores worldwide.
Ursula Burns was the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company when she became CEO of Xerox in 2009. But she lost that role in 2016 when Xerox split into two companies.
There are only a handful of other Black CEOs in the Fortune 500, including Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison.