Walgreens Taps Former Express Scripts Chief Tim Wentworth As New CEO

Walgreens Boots Alliance has named former Express Scripts chief executive Tim Wentworth as the drugstore giant’s new chief executive officer, the pharmacy chain confirmed Tuesday night.

Wentworth, who led Express Scripts through its $54 billion acquisition by Cigna in 2018, is well known in the healthcare industry, which is what Walgreens had hoped to hire in replacing Rosalind Brewer as the drugstore giant’s top executive. Brewer resigned last month and Walgreens board said it wanted to replace her with an executive with healthcare experience.

“The WBA Board has been focused on bringing in a CEO with deep healthcare experience, and we are pleased to welcome Tim Wentworth as the company’s new CEO,” said Stefano Pessina, the Italian billionaire and executive chairman of Walgreens Boots Alliance who is Walgreens largest individual shareholder. “He is an accomplished and respected leader with profound expertise in the payer and pharmacy space as well as supply chain, IT and Human Resources. We are confident he is the right person to lead WBA’s next phase of growth into a customer- centric healthcare company.”

Wentworth has more than 40 years of healthcare industry experience, most recently serving as chief executive of Evernorth, Cigna’s $100 billion health services organization, which includes the pharmacy benefit management company Express Scripts.

Wentworth was CEO of Express Scripts when the PBM sold to Cigna,

The deal was done at a time when insurers like Cigna are closing ranks around a model that brings the PBM closer to the health plan in hopes of creating a savvier buyer of prescription medicines while seeking more transparency. UnitedHealth Group already owns OptumRx, a fast-growing PBM and CVS Health, which owns the Caremark PBM, is nearing completion of its acquisition of Aetna, the nation’s third largest health insurer.

Walgreens, however, hasn’t to date been interested in closer ties with a health insurance company or PBM, which could change under Wentworth.

PBMs like Express Scripts are considered middlemen between drug makers and consumers when it comes to purchasing drugs and providing prescription coverage. The PBM’s role is in part to leverage its negotiating clout to get the best drug prices on behalf of its diverse base of customers that include large employers as well as Medicare and Medicaid.

Regardless of whether Walgreens forms closer ties with a health plan or PBM, Wentworth has his work cut out for him.

Walgreens’ share price has been sliding to around a 14-year low as investors wait impatiently for results of the drugstore giant’s transformation into a major provider of healthcare services.

In Walgreens’ most recent quarter, profits tumbled to $118 million—less than half of what they were a year ago—due to, Brewer said, “significantly lower demand for Covid-related services.” Walgreens releases its next quarterly earnings on Thursday.

Under Brewer, Walgreens has spent billions of dollars, including gaining a majority stake in doctor-staffed clinic developer VillageMD, which is rolling out hundreds of primary care centers attached to Walgreens drugstores. Wentworth’s former company, Evernorth, has also invested substantially in VillageMD.

Wentworth said he’s confident

WBA has a differentiated model with the power to build on the company’s pharmacy strength and trusted brand to evolve healthcare delivery. I believe in WBA’s vision to be the leading partner in reimagining local healthcare and well-being for all,” said Mr. Wentworth. “I’ve spent my career working to improve the health of the patients we’ve served. I believe WBA is well-positioned to deliver more personalized, coordinated care, and achieve better outcomes at a lower cost. I fully recognize the challenges that health plans, healthcare providers, pharmacies, and retailers are confronting today and am confident that WBA, and its customer- and patient-focused teams, can seize the opportunities of a dynamic marketplace and be the partner of choice.”