Walgreens Appoints Two New Leaders to its Retail and Customer Experience Team

Rhea-AI Summary

Walgreens (WBA) has announced two key leadership appointments to enhance its retail and customer experience team. Tracey Koller joins as Senior Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer, while Sharmila Sudhakar takes on the role of Group Vice President and Head of Walgreens Digital Commerce. These appointments are part of Walgreens' strategy to turnaround its business, focusing on improving the front-of-store and omnichannel experience while driving in-store efficiencies.

Koller, with over 30 years of experience in omni-channel merchandising and operations, will lead the merchandising strategy across all categories. Sudhakar, a tenured omni-retail executive, will be responsible for driving digitally initiated revenue growth and strengthening digital engagement through omni-channel solutions. Both leaders are set to begin their new roles in late August, bringing their extensive expertise to support Walgreens' growth and success in delivering an efficient, highly relevant customer experience.

Positive

• Appointment of experienced leaders in merchandising and digital commerce
• Focus on enhancing front-of-store and omnichannel customer experience
• Strategy to drive in-store efficiencies and digitally initiated revenue growth
• Potential for improved competitive advantage through new merchandising strategies

Negative

• None.

Names Tracey Koller as Chief Merchandising Officer and Sharmila Sudhakar as Group Vice President and Head of Digital Commerce

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Walgreens, the leading independent retail pharmacy and healthcare provider, today announced two key leadership appointments: Tracey Koller, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer, and Sharmila Sudhakar, group vice president and head of Walgreens digital commerce. The company believes these new appointments will significantly contribute to its efforts with regard to the turnaround of the business as the company focuses on enhancing the front of store and omnichannel experience for its customers while driving in-store efficiencies.

Tracey Koller, Chief Merchandising Officer. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Our retail pharmacy business is uniquely positioned to expand the role we play in the lives of our patients who have come to expect and need retail pharmacy at the center of their care,” said Tracey Brown, executive vice president and president, Walgreens retail and chief customer officer. “To do this, we are investing in the industry’s best talent, which includes the addition of Tracey and Sharmila to the Walgreens leadership team. With their strong track records of delivering results in omni-channel solutions and merchandising, I know they will be critical contributors to our growth and success as we deliver an efficient, highly relevant customer experience.”

Tracey Koller

As the chief merchandising officer, Koller will be responsible for leading merchandising strategy across all categories, and the deployment of merchandising plans and programs that will drive Walgreens’ competitive advantage. This includes leadership of product mix, supplier relationships and merchandising operations.

Throughout her career, Koller has gained a reputation as a highly collaborative leader who is passionate about the integration of customer insights with products and services.

Most recently, Koller was chief merchandising officer at Party City. She brings more than 30 years of experience and a successful track record in omni-channel merchandising and operations at organizations including News Corp, Whole Foods and Target.

“I am amazed by the trust Walgreens has built in communities across the US and the impact the company has on the millions of lives it touches each day,” said Koller. “It’s an exciting time to join the Walgreens merchandising organization as the company sharpens its focus as a destination for areas it is uniquely positioned to lead, such as health and beauty and women's health, while also reevaluating its assortment to ensure its relevancy, leveraging select partners and Walgreens own brands.”

Sharmila Sudhakar

Sharmila Sudhakar is joining Walgreens as group vice president and head of Walgreens digital commerce, where she will be responsible for driving its digitally initiated revenue growth across various business lines, including retail products, pharmacy, photo services and health services and strengthening digital engagement through omni-channel solutions. In this role, she will lead the end-to-end digital team including digital planning and operations, partnerships, product management and analytics.

Sudhakar is a tenured omni-retail executive with deep digital experience and a proven track record of delivering profitable growth.

She joins Walgreens from Tailored Brands, where she served in a number of leadership positions, most recently as vice president / general manager of the North America ecommerce business for The Men’s Wearhouse and Moores. She brings more than 20 years of experience developing cohesive omni-channel assortments that reflect market trends and customer needs, launching and optimizing compelling omni-channel customer journeys and driving quality traffic through performance marketing channels for well-known brands including Walmart, Tile, Gap Incorporated and eBay.

“With a 125-year heritage, Walgreens has earned the right to engage with customers and patients in a way few others can rival, and it’s exciting to join at a pivotal time in the company’s history,” Sudhakar said. “I look forward to working with the highly talented team at Walgreens to accelerate our digital and omni-channel offerings that meet our customers when, where and how they want to engage.”

These leaders will begin their new roles in late August. Stay up to date on all of the latest news from Walgreens, please visit www.walgreensbootsalliance.com.

About Walgreens

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is included in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and U.S. Healthcare segments of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), an integrated healthcare, pharmacy and retail leader. True to its purpose of “more joyful lives through better health,” Walgreens has a more than 120-year heritage of caring for communities and providing trusted pharmacy services, and today is playing a greater role as an independent partner of choice offering healthcare services that improve care, lower costs, and help patients. Operating nearly 9,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Walgreens is proud to serve nearly 9 million customers and patients daily. The company’s pharmacists are playing a more critical role in healthcare than ever before, providing a wide range of pharmacy and healthcare services, including those that drive equitable access to care for some of the nation’s most underserved populations. Walgreens offers customers and patients a true omnichannel experience, with fully integrated physical and digital platforms designed to deliver high-quality products and healthcare services. Within the U.S. Healthcare segment, Walgreens portfolio also includes businesses in primary care, multi-specialty, post-acute care, urgent care, specialty pharmacy services, population health and provider enablement.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: All statements in this release that are not historical including, without limitation, those regarding the achievement of and execution on our business and financial goals and strategy, including efforts to turnaround the business and the impact of new leadership with regard thereto, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including those described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023 and in other documents that we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake, and expressly disclaim, any duty or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the date of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240816638160/en/

Molly Sheehan

media@walgreens.com

Source: Walgreens

FAQ

Who are the new leaders appointed by Walgreens (WBA)?

Walgreens (WBA) has appointed Tracey Koller as Senior Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer, and Sharmila Sudhakar as Group Vice President and Head of Walgreens Digital Commerce.

What is the main goal of these new appointments at Walgreens (WBA)?

The main goal is to contribute to the turnaround of Walgreens' business by enhancing the front-of-store and omnichannel experience for customers while driving in-store efficiencies.

When will the new leaders start their roles at Walgreens (WBA)?

Both Tracey Koller and Sharmila Sudhakar are set to begin their new roles at Walgreens (WBA) in late August.

What is Tracey Koller's background and role at Walgreens (WBA)?

Tracey Koller has over 30 years of experience in omni-channel merchandising and operations. At Walgreens (WBA), she will be responsible for leading merchandising strategy across all categories as the Chief Merchandising Officer.