Walgreens joins various companies in its latest effort to diversify their board.
Starbucks Corp. operating chief Roz Brewer is set to be named Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.’s new chief executive officer, according to inside sources, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Once set in stone, the new appointment will reportedly make Brewer the only Black female leading a Fortune 500 company today.
Brewer will replace CEO Stefano Pessina who mentioned that he would step down as the drugstore company’s CEO once they found a new leader.
As regulators, investors and activists continue to push for more diversity in Corporate America, Brewer’s appointment comes just on the heels of Nasdaq’s prediction that proposed changes will continue to push for greater gender and racial diversity on the boards of publicly-traded companies listed on its exchange.
Upon joining Starbucks’ board in 2017, Brewer became its chief operating officer later that year after she served as CEO of Sam’s Club, owned by Walmart.
A regular ceiling smasher when it comes to diversity, Brewer was the first Black woman to not only be named COO of Starbucks but to head a division at the big-box retailer.
As Walgreens looks to turn around its business and create new revenue streams, it seems as though Brewer is not one to back down from a challenge.
