Rosalind Brewer | |
---|---|
CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance | |
In office March 2021- September 2023 | |
Preceded by | Stefano Pessina |
Succeeded by | Tim Wentworth |
COO of Starbucks | |
In office 2017-2021 | |
CEO of Sam's Club | |
In office 2012-2017 | |
Succeeded by | John Furner |
Personal details | |
Born | 1962 (age 61–62) Detroit,Michigan,U.S. |
Spouse | John Brewer |
Children | 2 |
Education | Spelman College (B.S.) |
Occupation | Businesswoman |
Rosalind "Roz" G. Brewer (born 1962) is an American businesswoman and former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance,before stepping down in September 2023. [1] Brewer is the first woman to become CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance,group president and COO of Starbucks,and CEO of Sam's Club. [2]
USA Today referred to her as "one of corporate America's most prominent women and black female executives." [3] Brewer has been called a "Highly Powerful Woman" by Forbes and Fortune magazines.
Rosalind Brewer was born in 1962 in Detroit,Michigan, [4] the youngest of five children;they were the first generation in her family to attend college. [4] Due to her inclination for math and science,Brewer was interested in pursuing a career as a physician. [5]
In 1980,upon graduating from Cass Technical High School in Detroit,Brewer enrolled at Spelman College in Atlanta,Georgia where she completed her bachelor's degree in chemistry. [6] [7] She decided not to pursue a career in medicine,and began working at Kimberly-Clark as a research technician.
Brewer completed the director's college (executive education) program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Stanford Law School, [8] as well as the advanced management program at The Wharton School,University of Pennsylvania. [9]
Brewer has held executive positions at Kimberly-Clark,Walmart,Sam's Club,Starbucks,and Walgreens Boots Alliance. Additionally,in 2019 Brewer was elected and became the only black member of the board of directors at Amazon. [10] She has been a non-executive director at Lockheed Martin and Molson Coors Brewing Company. [9] [11] Brewer continues to serve as a member on the board of trustees for Westminster School,the board of councilors for the Carter Presidential Center,and board of trustees chair at Spelman College. [5]
In 1984,after graduating from Spelman College,Brewer began her career as a research technician at Kimberly-Clark,a global paper-based product company,till 1988. [12] From 1988 to 1998,she held numerous leadership roles including:market manager,director for Skincare,and vice president for nonwovens. [12] From 1998 and 2006,Brewer served as the president for manufacturing and operations and the global president at Kimberly-Clark. [12] Brewer had a 22 year career at Kimberly-Clark Corporation. [6] [7]
Brewer's career with Walmart began in 2006. Brewer served as the vice president,senior vice president,executive vice president for southeastern operations,and executive vice president for the eastern business unit at Walmart stores. [12] Brewer started her position as regional vice president of operations in Georgia. Following her work as the regional vice president of Operations in Georgia,she became the division president of Walmart's southeast market,and finally the president of Walmart East. [13]
In 2012,Brewer left Walmart and became the president and CEO of Sam's Club,the membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart. [14] [15] She focused on health and wellness by doubling the number of organic products offered at Sam's Clubs. [16] As CEO of Sam’s Club,Brewer became the first black person to lead a Walmart division. [4] She retired from her role at Sam’s Club in 2017. [4]
On 1 February 2017,Brewer was nominated for the Starbucks board of directors. On 6 September 2017 was named COO and group president. [17] [18] [19] Brewer was the second-highest-ranking executive at Starbucks after CEO Kevin Johnson and the first black and the first woman to become the COO and group president of Starbucks. [20] [21] [22] She led businesses and operations in the United States,Canada,and Latin America. [23]
On 15 March 2021,Rosalind Brewer was appointed as the CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance. Brewer became the only current black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. [24] [25] Brewer mutually agreed to step down as CEO in September 2023 after being in the role for two years. [1]
Under Brewer's tenure as CEO,the company's stock declined 47%. [26]
Brewer was a member of the board of directors at Amazon from 2019 to 2021. [10] [27] She was a director of Lockheed Martin from 2011 to 2017,and Molson Coors Brewing Company from 2006 to 2011. [9] [11] [28] [29] [ excessive citations ]
In 2020, Fortune ranked Brewer the 27th Most Powerful Woman in the World and Forbes ranked her 48th in their World's 100 Most Powerful Women. [6] [30]
On 15 September 2015,Fortune included Brewer in its Most Powerful Woman rankings. [30] Working Mother named her one of the Most Powerful Working Moms of 2013. [31]
In 2017,Brewer received the Spelman College Legacy of Leadership award. [32] [33]
Brewer was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50 list of entrepreneurs,leaders,scientists and creators over the age of 50. [34] The same year,she was also inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame. [35]
Brewer was named as one of USA Today's Women of the Year in 2022. [36]
Brewer is married to John Brewer,and they have two children. [6]
In 2015,as CEO of Sam's Club,Brewer was interviewed on CNN by Poppy Harlow. During the interview,Brewer explained that diversity was a priority for her. [20] [37] When speaking about the topic,she said,"I demand it of my team" and that,"Every now and then you have to nudge your partners. You have to speak up and speak out. And I try to use my platform for that. I try to set an example." [37]
Brewer described a specific incident when she was meeting with a supplier,and she recollected,"the entire other side of the table was all Caucasian male. That was interesting." [37] Brewer chose not to address the lack of diversity when meeting with the group,but said she was "going to make a call" to the supplier. [37] In response to her comments,Brewer faced repercussions,as many individuals on social media called her "racist." [20]
In support of Brewer's statement,Doug McMillon,Walmart's president and CEO,subsequently wrote in a statement,"For years,we've asked our suppliers to prioritize the talent and diversity of their sales teams calling on our company,Roz was simply trying to reiterate that we believe diverse and inclusive teams make for a stronger business. That's all there is to it and I support that important ideal." [37]
Shortly after becoming the COO and group president of Starbucks,the company was met with nationwide protests and negative publicity because of the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia store location. [38] In response,Brewer and her team implemented policy changes and instituted racial bias training for employees in 8,000 stores. [39] [40]
Sheryl Kara Sandberg is an American technology executive,philanthropist,and writer. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms,a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is also the founder of LeanIn.Org. In 2008,she was made COO at Facebook,becoming the company's second-highest-ranking official. In June 2012,she was elected to Facebook's board of directors,becoming the first woman to serve on its board. As head of the company's advertising business,Sandberg was credited for making the company profitable. Prior to joining Facebook as its COO,Sandberg was vice president of global online sales and operations at Google and was involved in its philanthropic arm Google.org. Before that,Sandberg served as research assistant to Lawrence Summers at the World Bank,and subsequently as his chief of staff when he was Bill Clinton's United States Secretary of the Treasury.
B. Kevin Turner is an American businessman and investor who is the chairman of Zayo Group and the vice chairman of Albertsons/Safeway Inc.
Ursula M. Burns is an American businesswoman. Burns is renowned for her tenure as the CEO of Xerox,serving from 2009 to 2016,making her the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. She also holds the distinction of being the first woman to follow another as the head of a Fortune 500 company. Burns remained the Chairman at Xerox from 2010 to 2017.
Indra Nooyi is an American business executive who was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of PepsiCo.
Safra Ada Catz is an Israeli-American billionaire banker and technology executive. She is the CEO of Oracle Corporation. She has been an executive at Oracle since April 1999,and a board member since 2001. In April 2011,she was named co-president and chief financial officer (CFO),reporting to founder Larry Ellison. In September 2014,Oracle announced that Ellison would step down as CEO and that Mark Hurd and Catz had been named as joint CEOs. In September 2019,Catz became the sole CEO after Hurd resigned due to health issues.
Padmasree Warrior is an Indian-American businesswoman and technology executive. She is known for her leadership roles in technology firms like Cisco where she served as the CTO for seven years,and at Motorola where she was the CTO for five years. She also served as the CEO of Nio USA,an electric car maker. Currently,she is the founder and CEO of Fable,a curated reading platform focused on mental wellness. She also serves on the board of directors of Microsoft and Spotify.
Brenda Czajka Barnes was an American businesswoman who served as president,chairman and chief executive of Sara Lee,and was the first female CEO at PepsiCo.
Carol M. Meyrowitz is the Executive Chairman of the Board and the Chairman of the Executive Committee of TJX Companies,the leading off-price retailer in the United States. As of 2015,she is listed as the 76th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. As of 2014,she was also ranked as the 12th most powerful woman in the world by Fortune.
Mellody Hobson is an American businesswoman who is president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments,and the chairwoman of Starbucks Corporation. She is the former chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation,having stepped down after negotiating the acquisition of DreamWorks Animation SKG,Inc.,by NBCUniversal in August 2016. In 2017,she became the first African-American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago. She was also named to chair the board of directors of Starbucks in 2021,making her one of the highest profile corporate directors in the United States.
Susan M. Cameron is an American businessperson who is the former chairman,president,and CEO of Reynolds American,Inc.
Ornella Barra is an Italian-born Monegasque businesswoman. A qualified pharmacist,she is chief operating officer,international of Walgreens Boots Alliance. She is married to the Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina.
Virginia Marie "Ginni" Rometty is an American business executive who was executive chairman of IBM after stepping down as CEO on April 1,2020. She was previously chairman,president and CEO of IBM,becoming the first woman to head the company. She retired from IBM on December 31,2020,after a near-40 year career there. Before becoming president and CEO in January 2012,she first joined IBM as a systems engineer in 1981 and subsequently headed global sales,marketing,and strategy.
Wan Ling Martello is a Filipino American businesswoman. Martello was an executive vice president of Nestléfrom 2011 to 2018.
Mary Teresa Barra is an American businesswoman who has been the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of General Motors since January 15,2014. She is the first female CEO of a 'Big Three' automaker. In December 2013,GM named her to succeed Daniel Akerson as CEO. Prior to being named CEO,Barra was executive vice president of global product development,purchasing,and supply chain.
Marillyn Adams Hewson is an American businesswoman who served as the chairman,president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Lockheed Martin from January 2013 to June 2020.
Carl Douglas McMillon is an American businessman,and the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Walmart Inc. He sits on the retailer's board of directors. Having first joined the company as a summer associate in high school,he became the company's fifth CEO in 2014. He previously led the company's Sam's Club division,from 2005 to 2009,and Walmart International,from 2009 to 2013.
Debra Ann Crew is the president and CEO of Diageo. She is also a board member of Mondelez International,and the former president and chief executive officer of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. She previously held senior management positions at PepsiCo,Mars,Incorporated,and Dreyer's.
Dame Emma Natasha Walmsley is the chief executive officer (CEO) of GlaxoSmithKline. She succeeded Sir Andrew Witty,who retired in March 2017. Before GSK,she worked for L'Oréal for 17 years,and was a non-executive director of Diageo until September 2016. She grew up in Barrow-in-Furness,Cumbria,England.
Alicia Boler Davis is an American engineer and businesswoman. Boler Davis began her career at General Motors,rising to the rank of executive vice president of global manufacturing in 2016. In 2019,she joined Amazon as senior vice president of global customer fulfillment. During her time at Amazon,she led much of the company's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and became the first Black executive to join its senior leadership.
Beth E. Ford is an American businessperson. Ford is most notable for being the CEO of Land O'Lakes,an American agricultural cooperative which she assumed leadership of in 2018. She is the first openly gay female CEO of an American Fortune 500 company.