Walgreens Announces Executive Change

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Walgreens (NYSE: WAG)(NASDAQ: WAG) today announced George J. Riedl, senior vice president of pharmacy innovation and purchasing, will leave the company at the end of the year.

“With the confidence I have in the direction of the company’s pharmacy operations and in Walgreens future as a whole, this is the right time for me to move on to other opportunities”

Since March, Riedl has overseen the rollout of a new pharmacy system in Florida and Arizona that centralizes administrative tasks and provides store pharmacists more time for patient counseling and other clinical services. With rollout of the system complete in Florida and nearing full implementation in Arizona, Riedl will finalize his transition from the company over the coming months.

“With the confidence I have in the direction of the company’s pharmacy operations and in Walgreens future as a whole, this is the right time for me to move on to other opportunities,” said Riedl. “I look forward to the challenges that lay ahead.”

Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson said, “During his 27 years with Walgreens, George has played a key role in several areas, including marketing, merchandising, purchasing and pharmacy services. We appreciate all he has done for the company during that time and for his willingness to stay on during this transition period. George’s outstanding leadership skills in developing and motivating staff will benefit our company for years to come. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation’s largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2009 sales of $63.3 billion. The company operates 7,045 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Walgreens provides the most convenient access to consumer goods and services and cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services in America through its retail drugstores, Walgreens Health Services division and Walgreens Health and Wellness division. Walgreens Health Services assists pharmacy patients and prescription drug and medical plans through Walgreens Health Initiatives Inc. (a pharmacy benefit manager), Walgreens Mail Service Inc., Walgreens Home Care Inc., Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy LLC and SeniorMed LLC (a pharmacy provider to long-term care facilities). Walgreens Health and Wellness Division includes Take Care Health Systems, the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.