Walgreens’s CEO Greg Wasson retires before merger with Alliance Boots is completed

Walgreen’s CEO Greg Wasson retires before merger with Alliance Boots is completed

Walgreens’s chief executive officer (CEO) Greg Wasson is to retire and will not head up the company once it completes its merger with European pharmacy-wholesaler business Alliance Boots, in a change to previous plans.

Wasson, who started as a pharmacy intern with the US pharmacy chain in 1980 and worked his way up to the CEO post in 2009, was expected to lead Walgreens Alliance Boots, but told Walgreens’s board of directors that he will “retire shortly” after the close of the second step of the merger transaction, where shareholders will vote on the deal on 29 December 2014.

Stefano Pessina, the billionaire executive chairman of Alliance Boots, will serve as the acting CEO of the merger entity, pending a board search for a successor. The merged company will have more than 11,000 pharmacies in ten countries, and is expected to create the world’s largest pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution network.

In a statement, Wasson said: “With the creation of Walgreens Boots Alliance, it is now time for new leadership to move that vision forward building on the global platform we have created, executing on the company’s many opportunities and creating long-term sustainable value for our customers and shareholders.”

 

Last updated
Citation
The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ, 20/27 December 2014, Vol 293, No 7841/2;293(7841/2):DOI:10.1211/PJ.2014.20067401

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