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EDMONTON, Alberta — Canada’s Rexall/Rexall Pharma Plus drug chain has a new chief executive officer and a new operating structure.
Jürgen Schreiber
Former Shoppers Drug Mart chief executive Jürgen Schreiber has been named CEO of Rexall Health, a newly formed banner under the Katz Group. Plans call for Schreiber, who joins the company from Edcon Group, South Africa’s largest nonfood retailer, to take the reins as CEO in August.
In the role, Schreiber will head three independently operated businesses under the Rexall Health umbrella: the Rexall/Rexall Pharma Plus drug chain, which has more than 460 locations in central and western Canada; Medicentres Canada, a group of family health care clinics serving the communities of Edmonton, Calgary, London and Windsor, Alberta; and Claimsecure Inc., which provides value-added health benefit claims management and plan administrative services to Canadian companies and other health plan sponsors.
“Jürgen has been a consultant to our health-related businesses for the past two years as a member of our advisory board. We know firsthand that he brings world-class expertise, deep knowledge of the Canadian health and pharmacy sector and a track record of success,” Katz Group founder and chairman Daryl Katz said in a statement. “We consider ourselves very fortunate to welcome him to the Katz Group in this new role.”
Schreiber’s years of experience span the global retail pharmacy, health and beauty sectors, including four years as president and CEO of Shoppers Drug Mart from 2007 to 2011. Most recently, he served for four years as president and CEO of Edcon Group, which has about 1,400 stores and 20,000 employees across Africa.
Before Edcon and Shoppers Drug Mart, Schreiber spent many years establishing himself as an innovative and accomplished retail and FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) executive in multinational businesses based in Europe and Asia, operating in more than 20 countries.
“I have great admiration for what Daryl and the team at Rexall have built, and I’m very excited by the opportunity to help grow this exceptional business,” Schreiber stated. “I was attracted by Rexall’s obvious strength in the Canadian market, its innovative approach of providing a broad array of health care and related services to its customers and patients, and the very significant growth opportunities in the evolving Canadian marketplace.”
The formation of Rexall Health puts the company in an even stronger position, Schreiber added. “Bringing the Katz Group’s other health-related businesses under the Rexall Health banner creates additional growth opportunities to bundle services to meet the needs of our customers,” he explained.
Late last year, Rexall said that it would announce a new chief executive following the departure of Frank Scorpiniti, who became CEO of U.S. natural food retailer Earth Fare. Chief operating officer Warren Jeffery had assumed day-to-day responsibility at Rexall in the interim. Scorpiniti joined Rexall as chief operating officer in April 2011 and became CEO in February 2012 when Andy Giancamilli retired.
In other news, Sharon Driscoll, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Rexall/Katz Group Canada Ltd., is leaving the company to join Ritchie Bros., an industrial equipment auctioneer. She is slated to start at the company on July 6 as chief financial officer.
Driscoll served as executive vice president and CFO at Rexall since joining the drug chain in February 2013 from Sears Canada Inc., where she was senior vice president of finance and CFO. Before going to Sears, she served in a variety of executive posts over a 20-year career at Loblaw Cos., including senior vice president roles in corporate development, national merchandising, and finance for the Ontario division, as well as vice president of finance for Loblaws Supermarkets Ltd.
Late last year, Driscoll was named as a Top 100 Award Winner on the Women’s Executive Network’s 2014 list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women.
