Walgreens to Name Starbucks Executive Roz Brewer as CEO

Starbucks COO Roz Brewer in 2019.

Photo: jason redmond/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

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Updated Jan. 26, 2021 5:48 pm ET

Walgreens WBA 2.86% Boots Alliance Inc. is set to name Starbucks Corp. operating chief Roz Brewer as its next chief executive, according to people familiar with the matter, setting her up to be the only Black female leading a Fortune 500 company today.

Ms. Brewer will replace CEO Stefano Pessina, who said in July that he would step down as CEO once the drugstore company found a new leader. Mr. Pessina, one of Walgreens’ biggest individual investors, said he was planning to stay on the company’s board and serve as executive chairman.

Starbucks said Tuesday that Ms. Brewer was leaving at the end of February for a new role at another public company. Before joining the coffeehouse chain, Ms. Brewer was CEO of Walmart Inc.’s Sams Club division.

Write to Dana Mattioli at [email protected] and Cara Lombardo at [email protected]

This post first appeared on wsj.com