Walgreens Promotes Joseph Magnacca to Executive Vice President

Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) announced the promotion of Joseph Magnacca from senior vice president to executive vice president, effective today. Magnacca also retains his title as president of daily living products and solutions.

Magnacca oversees Walgreens merchandising and inventory strategy, private brands, insights and analytics, and the New York-based Duane Reade drugstore chain, which Walgreens acquired in 2010. A retail industry veteran of more than 20 years, Magnacca joined Duane Reade in 2008 as senior vice president and chief merchandising officer. He was later promoted to executive vice president at Duane Reade and then to president of the drugstore chain following its acquisition by Walgreens. He was named Walgreens president of daily living products and solutions in 2011.

“Joe plays a critical role in our strategy to step out of the traditional drugstore channel and deliver the ‘Well Experience’ to our customers,” said Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson. “We want that customer experience to be unmatched in the industry, and Joe is helping to bring it to life through leading edge store design, enhanced products and services, and increased customer delight. His exceptional strategic market focus means we are now better positioned than ever to meet the daily living needs of our customers.”

Earlier in his career, Magnacca served as vice president of marketing and merchandising for Loblaw, Canada’s leading food distributer and provider of general merchandise products and services, and as executive vice president of merchandising and category management for Shoppers Drug Mart, the largest drug chain in Canada.

As the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2012 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to become America’s first choice for health and daily living. Each day, Walgreens provides more than 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. The company operates 8,061 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is 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.