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WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Larry Merlo has assumed the role of chief executive officer of CVS Caremark Corp.
Merlo, who also holds the title of president, succeeded Tom Ryan, who will remain nonexecutive chairman until his retirement at the company’s annual shareholders meeting in May.
“After more than 20 years, I know this organization, its values and our people’s passion for serving our customers,” stated Merlo, who had been chief operating officer. “We are building on a strong foundation. CVS Caremark is the leader in providing integrated pharmacy health care. No one else has our combination of the largest chain of retail stores, a leading PBM, the fastest-growing retail health clinics and a strong track record of health care innovation.
“We are now focused on delivering on the promise of our integrated pharmacy health care model. We will more fully leverage our unique combination of assets by maximizing the potential of our pharmacy benefit management business, sustaining our retail leadership, continuing innovation to create new health care solutions, and more consistently delivering financial and operational excellence. The entire CVS Caremark team is committed to delivering these results.”
A pharmacist by training with over 30 years in the industry, Merlo joined CVS in 1990 via its acquisition of Peoples Drug Stores.
He has played a key role in the company’s evolution from CVS, a large regional drug chain, to CVS Caremark, the nation’s largest pharmacy health care provider. Under Merlo’s leadership, CVS completed some of the most successful acquisitions in the history of retail pharmacy — including Longs Drug Stores, Osco/Sav-on, Eckerd and Revco — and delivered significant organic growth in major markets.
“Larry Merlo sets high expectations for his leaders, builds collaborative winning teams and establishes clear accountability in delivering results,” said board member David Dorman, who will become nonexecutive chairman upon Ryan’s retirement. “The board has recognized this from his many accomplishments. Larry is the right leader to take CVS Caremark to an even higher level of performance.”
