Walgreens: Names New CEO and Hopes to Reset a Tough Period

Walgreens Boots Alliance WBA named Tim Wentworth as its new chief executive officer on Oct. 10. Wentworth has decades of experience in healthcare, most recently as the head of Evernorth, Cigna’s pharmacy benefit management and health-services arm. Before that, he was CEO of Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the United States, and guided that company through the integration with Cigna after its late 2018 acquisition. His appointment will be effective Oct. 23.

When Roz Brewer stepped down as CEO in September, Walgreens said it intended to bring in someone with a depth of healthcare experience, and we think Wentworth meets this requirement. What will be interesting to watch is how his experience as the head of a top-tier PBM—one of the main sources of pricing pressure on Walgreens and other retail pharmacies—can help guide the firm in the right direction. He will be heavily scrutinized, given that Walgreens has had a rough 2023 as the result of a lower COVID-19 impact, a milder cough and cold season, and slower-than-expected growth for the U.S. healthcare segment. The firm has also faced staffing challenges since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic; this is ongoing as many Walgreens pharmacists staged a walkout on Oct. 9 that is expected to last until the end of Oct. 11. While we anticipate the walkout to have minimal effect from a corporate standpoint, it is another concern that Wentworth has to manage and work through as he enters the role. We will be keeping a close eye on how he takes Walgreens, which is struggling with a number of uncertainties, to more solid ground and how he expands the U.S. healthcare business as other major retailers enter the space.

The company will report fiscal fourth-quarter results on Oct. 12.