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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens this month added three executive positions to its leadership team, a move the national pharmacy chain said was made to bolster its retail, marketing and customer-experience offerings.
The newest team members are Linh Peters, senior vice president and chief marketing officer; Luke Rauch, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer; and Bala Visalatha, senior vice president and chief product officer.
“I am thrilled to have Linh, Luke and Bala join the Walgreens retail products and customer leadership team, and I’m confident that their collective decades of retail expertise and deep involvement with launching new customer experiences will accelerate growth in our company,” said Tracey Brown, president of retail products and chief customer officer at Walgreens.
Peters will oversee the vision, strategic direction and performance of Walgreens marketing activities, including marketing collaboration, brand design, brand positioning and marketing plan execution, the company said, describing Peters as a modern marketing leader whose foundation in loyalty provides both a strong data orientation and an ability to build brands based on a deep understanding of consumer needs. Most recently, Peters was global chief marketing officer at Calvin Klein. She brings over 20 years of experience with some of the world’s biggest consumer brands such as Starbucks, Target and Ulta Beauty, with deep experience in building effective consumer engagement and loyalty on a global scale.
“Throughout my career, I’ve worked collaboratively and cross-functionally to bring a laser focus on the customer experience to everything we do and I look forward to building upon the great momentum we’ve created over the past several years,” Peters said.
Rauch assumes oversight of the vision and strategic direction of Walgreens’ merchandising activities. Walgreens said that Rauch has gained a reputation as a highly strategic leader who consistently delivers results with the customer in mind. He most recently served as chief of staff to Roslyn Brewer, vice president and chief executive officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance. Previously, Rauch led the company’s own brands strategy in the United States and was instrumental in defining Walgreens’ retail customer experience.
“I am honored to rejoin the Walgreens merchandising organization and look forward to working with the team as we continue to fulfill our purpose of more joyful lives through better health,” said Rauch.
Visalatha is joining Walgreens in a newly created role of chief product officer, where he will lead the execution of Walgreens customer product strategy and development, along with user experience.
In this role, Visalatha will look across product lines and functions to ensure all product solutions are aligned to the customer strategy. Walgreens said that Visalatha’s extensive expertise in retail, product management, loyalty programs, digital and omnichannel strategies make him a proven leader with a deep understanding of customers.
Most recently, Visalatha was vice president of e-commerce at Walmart U.S., where he was instrumental in updating the Walmart app and website, creating a unified omnichannel experience for customers.
