Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has appointed Tim Wentworth as its new CEO.
Wentworth will also join the WBA’s board of directors upon assuming the role on 23 October.
He was most recently the founding CEO of Cigna's health services organisation Evernorth, overseeing health care provisions, pharmacy solutions and benefits management.
Wentworth has extensive experience in the pharmacy side of the business, and his aim is to improve healthcare services, lower costs and support patients.
“WBA has a differentiated model with the power to build on the company’s pharmacy strength and trusted brand to evolve healthcare delivery,” said Wentworth
“I believe WBA is well-positioned to deliver more personalised, coordinated care and achieve better outcomes at a lower cost.”
Prior to joining Cigna, Wentworth was CEO of Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager in the US.
He is said to have grown the business into a Fortune 22 company with more than US$100bn in revenue and 26,000 employees.
WBA said Wentworthjoins at a “pivotal” time, as the company focuses on right-sizing the business.
“The WBA board has been focused on bringing in a CEO with deep healthcare experience, and we are pleased to welcome Tim Wentworth as the company’s new CEO,” added Stefano Pessina, who is currently Executive Chairman at WBA.
“He is an accomplished and respected leader with profound expertise in the payer and pharmacy space as well as supply chain, IT and human resources.”
Boots, the UK health and beauty retailer owned by WBA, announced in June 2023 that it is closing 300 stores over the next 12 months despite reporting “strong” 2023 retail sales.
The UK health and beauty retailer will shut shops in close proximity to each other, taking branch numbers from 2,200 to 1,900.
The vast majority of closing stores are said to be within 5km of another Boots branch.
WBA said the move was part of a wider "transformation plan" to "consolidate" the business.
