NEW YORK — Alex Gourlay, chief executive of the health and beauty division at Alliance Boots, is slated to join the Walgreen Co. organization in Deerfield, Ill., as TITLE TITLE TITLE, Chain Drug Review has learned.
The news comes a day after Walgreens held its annual Analyst Day event in London, where senior executives from Walgreens and Alliance Boots gave an overview of their companies’ growth strategy, financial performance and synergy programs.
At the end of October, Walgreens and Alliance Boots announced that they have set up a joint venture company, Walgreens Boots Alliance Development GmbH. The Bern, Switzerland-based company was created for the partners’ synergy program. Jeff Berkowitz, senior vice president of pharmaceutical development and market access at Walgreens, recently was named president of the joint venture.
Walgreens unveiled global management roles for the Alliance Boots partnership in September. Wade Miquelon, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Walgreens, was given the additional role of president of international, leading a new Value Creation Services and International Division. He serves as senior leader for Walgreens president and chief executive officer Greg Wasson in collaborating with the Alliance Boots management team.
Robert Zimmerman, Walgreens’ chief strategy officer, was named to lead a new global mergers and acquisitions team as senior vice president of international and international chief administration officer. Zimmerman also serves on the Alliance Boots board with his new role as Walgreens’ key project leader for the global partnership.
Joining Walgreens as senior vice president and chief strategy officer was Brad Fluegel, a former senior executive at WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc. Previously, Fluegel served as executive in residence at Health Evolution Partners. Besides serving as chief strategy officer, he will lead the Walgreens’ project management office and corporate consulting team and work with Zimmerman on venture capital efforts.
Also in September, Bill Wafford became vice president of international finance for Walgreens, working out of London. He previously was divisional vice president and divisional CFO at Walgreens in Deerfield.
Walgreens, too, has named Don Huonker as senior vice president of global projects for the company. Based in Deerfield, Huonker leads a joint Walgreens/Alliance Boots global sourcing office to drive increased buying scale and efficiency in the indirect spend area, according to the company. He also oversees strategic sourcing for Walgreens.
The Walgreens-Alliance Boots deal was announced in June. Under the first phase of the agreement, finalized in early August, Walgreens acquired a 45% equity interest in Alliance Boots for $6.7 billion in cash and stock.
With the first part of the deal done, Wasson, Miquelon, Zimmerman and Walgreens executive vice president and general counsel Thomas Sabatino joined the Alliance Boots board. Alliance Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina and Dominic Murphy, director and member of investment firm Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), a large stakeholder in Boots, joined the Walgreens board.
During the six-month period starting two-and-a-half years after the closing of the initial investment, Walgreens has the option to purchase the remaining 55% equity interest in Alliance Boots for $9.5 billion in cash and stock. Walgreens executives have indicated that they intend to proceed with that phase of the transaction.
