The Walgreens parent company has hired Northwestern Mutual's former chief information officer.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) announced earlier this month that Neal Sample is its new executive vice president and CIO.
Sample departed Northwestern Mutual in April 2022 after more than two years as CIO. He was replaced by Jeff Sippel.
In his new role, Sample will lead strategy for Walgreens' information technology function and implement its technology and digital innovation, "with an emphasis on improving the digital experience for customers and patients," according to a Nov. 1 press release from Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens. He'll also serve on the company's executive committee and IT Governance Committee.
Sample had been an IT consultant to Walgreens, working with the company's tech leaders "to assess and advance the company's technology goals," the release said.
Walgreens has seen a string of executive changes following the September resignation of former CEO Rosalind "Roz" Brewer after less than three years in the post.
Sample will report to the new Walgreens CEO, Tim Wentworth, who took his post late last month. Wentworth and Sample both previously worked at the St. Louis-based pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, where Wentworth was president and CEO, and Sample was the chief operating officer and CIO.
At Walgreens, Sample succeeds the company's former CIO, Hsiao Wang, who left his post in early October, just a year after he was hired.
Prior to Express Scripts, Sample was president of enterprise growth at American Express and also held technology development roles at Yahoo! and eBay.
Earlier this month, Walgreens said it plans to cut $1 billion in costs in its fiscal 2024, as the company reported fourth-quarter and fiscal-year losses. The company also said it plans to close unprofitable retail stores and shutter 60 of its VillageMD health care clinics in order to accelerate its profitability. Walgreens now plans to close up to 200 U.S. retail stores by its fiscal year end in August 2024, as opposed to the 150 closures it had previously targeted.
