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Rite Aid nixes chief operating officer role

COO Jim Peters, pharmacy chief Jocelyn Konrad exit amid management reshuffle

Russell Redman

March 9, 2022

3 Min Read
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Rite Aid also has named a new chief pharmacy officer and refocused that role as well as created the new position of chief digital and technology officer.Rite Aid

As part of a management realignment, Rite Aid has eliminated the chief operating officer position and consolidated its pharmacy leadership.

Philadelphia-based Rite Aid said yesterday that, with the changes, COO Jim Peters and Executive Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer Jocelyn Konrad have left the company.

Peters has been Rite Aid’s COO since October 2019, coming to the drug chain after serving as CEO of Skyward Health, a health care advisory firm. A nearly 15-year Rite Aid veteran, Konrad joined the company as a pharmacy district manager via its 2007 acquisition of the Brooks-Eckerd drug chain and rose through the pharmacy management ranks to become executive VP in August 2015 and then adding the chief pharmacy officer title in October 2019.

With the departure of Peters and Konrad, Senior VP of Clinical Pharmacy Services Karen Staniforth has been named chief pharmacy officer. Going forward, Rite Aid said, the pharmacy chief role will focus on centralized pharmacy operations, in addition to Staniforth’s current duties. Meanwhile, Executive VP and Chief Retail Officer Andre Persaud will now oversee pharmacy field operations as well as front-end operations.

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Jim Peters (left) had served as Rite Aid's COO and Jocelyn Konrad as chief pharmacy officer since October 2019.

Staniforth, Persaud and Senior VP and Chief Marketing/Merchandising Officer Erik Keptner will report directly to President and CEO Heyward Donigan.

Related:Rite Aid looks to trim retail footprint

Rite Aid said it also has appointed Justin Mennen as chief digital and technology officer. The newly created position expands Mennen’s former role as executive VP and chief information officer to include leadership of all digital and e-commerce operations and functions.

According to Donigan, the executive moves mark steps to streamline Rite Aid’s operations.

“The changes we announced today are part of our ongoing efforts to reduce costs and remove layers. Karen, Andre, Erik and Justin have been instrumental in bringing our full suite of retail products and pharmacy services to our customers, and I look forward to working directly with them as we execute on our omni-pharmacy strategy,” Donigan said in a statement.

“I also want to thank Jim and Jocy for their many contributions and wish them well in their future endeavors,” she added.

Donigan joined Rite Aid as president and CEO in August 2019, upon the exit of John Standley — in the wake of the company’s unsuccessful merger deals with Walgreens Boots Alliance and Albertsons Cos. — and a subsequent executive shuffle that included the appointments of a new COO and a new chief financial officer.

Rite Aid has since been gradually transitioning from a retail- to a health care-focused business, aimed at driving growth primarily through its Elixir pharmacy benefits management (PBM) and services subsidiary, in both physical and digital channels.

Related:Rite Aid expands on-demand delivery nationwide with Uber Eats

In December, Rite Aid unveiled a plan to close 63 drugstores under a reassessment of its brick-and-mortar retail base, though the company has continued to update its stores and in late 2021 added 67 retail pharmacies via the acquisition of Seattle-area drug chain Bartell Drugs. This year, Rite Aid shifted to a new corporate headquarters in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard district — from the company’s longtime HQ in Camp Hill, outside Harrrisburg, Pa. — and in late February launched a new customer loyalty program called Rite Aid Rewards.

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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