Brewer begins March 15, Walgreens said Tuesday. She currently serves as chief operating officer at Starbucks and will remain in the role until the end of February. The coffee company announced her departure on Tuesday.
‘I am excited to work with the whole [Walgreens Boots Alliance] Brewer said in a statement. This is especially true today because the company plays an important role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. ”
Brewer will succeed Stefano Pessina, who became the CEO of Walgreens in 2015. The pharmacy chain announced in July that it had decided to retire.
“It’s really great to see her in this position,” said Lorraine Hariton, president and CEO of Catalyst, a nonprofit research group that tracks the number of women serving in leadership positions at large companies.
Only one other black woman, former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, ever held the CEO position at a Fortune 500 company, Hariton said.
“We are definitely accelerating the number of women CEOs in the Fortune 500,” Hariton said. But “as for black women, it was a place that was left behind,” she said. “We still have to work to have a pipeline for coloreds.”