Walgreens announced several new senior management roles as the company works closely with Alliance Boots to execute the companies’ strategic partnership to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and well-being enterprise.
“These new roles will allow us to move forward aggressively, working closely together with Alliance Boots, to implement our strategic partnership and realize the extensive synergies from the acquisition, as well as accelerate our core growth strategies to achieve our purpose to help people get, stay and live well,” Walgreens president and CEO Greg Wasson said. “The changes also reflect Walgreens high level of confidence in our senior management team, with a mix of internally and externally developed talent, to execute the strategic partnership with Alliance Boots and major initiatives across the company efficiently and effectively.”
On June 19, 2012, Walgreens and Alliance Boots entered into a strategic transaction designed to bring together the strengths and expertise of both companies. On Aug. 2, 2012, Walgreens announced the completion of its initial investment in the strategic partnership following receipt of all required regulatory approvals.
With this senior management announcement, Wade Miquelon is assuming an expanded and global leadership role at Walgreens as executive vice president/CFO and president, international, leading a newly named value creation services and international division. As he continues to lead Walgreens finance functions as CFO, Miquelon will now also serve as Wasson’s senior leader in collaborating with Alliance Boots management team to execute the new global strategic partnership.
The company also announced current senior vice president/chief strategy officer Robert Zimmerman will now lead a new global mergers and acquisitions “synergy team” as senior vice president of international and international chief administration officer. In his new role as Walgreens key project leader on the Alliance Boots partnership, Zimmerman will also serve on the Alliance Boots board of directors.
Joining the company as senior vice president and chief strategy officer is Brad Fluegel. Before coming to Walgreens, Fluegel was executive in residence at Health Evolution Partners and previously served as executive vice president and chief strategy and external affairs officer of Wellpoint, Inc. In addition to serving as Walgreens chief strategy officer, Fluegel also will lead the company’s project management office and corporate consulting team, as well as work together with Zimmerman on the company’s venture capital efforts.
As part of the Alliance Boots announcement in June, Walgreens stated it expects combined synergies across both companies of between $100–150 million in the first year and $1 billion by the end of 2016. To carry out a focused effort to capture those synergies, the company is setting up six new global synergy teams in Miquelon’s new organization that will work closely with Alliance Boots. In addition to Zimmerman’s global mergers and acquisitions team, the additional global synergy teams will oversee global value creation, global projects, new markets and international expansion, and procurement and pharmaceutical development.
