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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) recently announced the appointment of James Kehoe as the company’s executive vice president and global chief financial officer, effective June 1.
Kehoe will succeed George Fairweather, who has served as WBA’s global CFO since February 2015. Fairweather has been instrumental in the formation of WBA, the subsequent integration of the legacy companies, the new enterprise’s major cost-transformation program and the establishment of the combined global financial organization.
James Kehoe
Fairweather will become a senior advisor to executive vice chairman and chief executive officer Stefano Pessina for business development and finance, also effective June 1.
Kehoe has served in the role of chief financial officer of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. since June 2016 and was based in Tokyo, reporting directly to the company’s president and CEO. He was appointed to the Takeda Pharmaceutical board of directors in June 2017.
Kehoe is an accomplished finance executive from the consumer packaged goods sector and a strong business leader with a track record of driving operational business performance. He joined Takeda from Kraft Foods Group in the U.S., where he last held the role of executive vice president and CFO. Prior to that, he held a number of finance-related positions for 25 years, with assignments in Ireland, Germany, Italy, the U.S., Austria, Switzerland and Canada.
“We are pleased to welcome James Kehoe to lead the Walgreens Boots Alliance global finance operations as the company now moves into our exciting future as a global leader in health and well-being,” commented WBA executive chairman Jim Skinner. “His significant leadership experience in both health care and consumer goods makes him an exceptional fit and addition to Stefano Pessina’s senior executive team and the company.”
“On behalf of the board, I also wish to thank George Fairweather for his steady and skilled leadership as he played a central role in the successful merger and integration of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and in building our global financial group,” Skinner added. “We are pleased that George will continue to serve the company by providing his experience and expertise as a senior advisor to Stefano.”
