Rite Aid appoints Jeanniey Walden as chief marketing officer

Taking on a permanent role, Jeanniey Walden has been promoted to senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Rite Aid.

With the move, announced Monday, Walden joins Rite Aid’s c-suite and will oversee the drug store, pharmacy and health care company’s marketing operations. She came to Philadelphia-based Rite Aid in March 2023 as interim senior VP of marketing, taking over that function from Chief Retail Officer Andre Persaud, who left the company.

Rite Aid noted that Walden will continue play a key role in its growth strategy by helping to create “meaningful customer, client and member experiences for millions of Americans.”

She also will oversee the expansion of Rite Aid’s popular Thrifty ice cream brand, which comes in 52 flavors and is distributed to the retailer’s 2,300-plus stores, including in 48 ounce and pint-sized containers as well as more than 500 hand-scooped ice cream counters.

“I’m incredibly excited to join Rite Aid in a permanent capacity to continue innovating our customer-first culture and our approach to customer engagement and loyalty,” Walden said in a statement. “As the neighborhood health and wellness destination, we’re proud to meet all of our customers’ needs—whether they are picking up a prescription, stocking up on essentials for the whole family or treating themselves to our iconic Thrifty ice cream. Our commitment to improving health outcomes and helping our communities thrive remains paramount.”

Jeanniey Walden, SVP and chief marketing officer at Rite Aid. / Photo courtesy of Rite Aid

Walden’s decades of experience span Fortune 500 companies and startups across a range of industries, including retail, health and wellness consulting services, advertising agencies and emerging technologies. Before coming to Rite Aid, she served as chief innovation and marketing officer at DailyPay, where she worked with major grocery and retail brands like Target, Dollar Tree and Kroger to devise strategies on improving the omnichannel customer journey.

Her deep marketing career also includes such roles as founder and CEO of LiftOff Enterprises; principal analyst and chief marketing officer at The Relevancy Group; global chief marketing officer for Mercer; VP of global marketing for Barnes & Noble’s Nook platform; global chief marketing and growth officer at Zinio; global executive VP and chief marketing officer at VIVmag; executive director and senior partner for worldwide email marketing at OgilvyOne Worldwide; and corporate customer relations director at JCPenney, among others.

“As we continue to accelerate our performance through bold strategy, focused execution and experienced leadership, we are pleased to permanently welcome Jeanniey to the Rite Aid team,” stated Busy Burr, interim CEO at Rite Aid. Burr had taken over the chief executive role in January when Heyward Donigan left the company. “As an accomplished marketeer with a customer-centric approach, Jeanniey will lead the charge to strengthen and enhance the ways we conveniently meet our customers’ changing needs, helping us further our mission to provide whole health for life.”

Chief digital officer exits drug chain

Also, in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rite Aid reported that Justin Mennen, executive VP and chief digital and technology officer, left the company effective July 28.

“Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Technology Officer Justin Mennen is no longer with the company. We appreciate his years of service to Rite Aid and wish him the best in his next endeavor,” Rite Aid said Monday in an email to Winsight Grocery Business. “Christine Rose has been promoted to senior vice president and chief information officer and will oversee technology services, while digital will report to Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Jeanniey Walden.”

Mennen had joined Rite Aid in January 2019 as senior VP and CIO, coming over from CompuCom, where he also served as CIO and as chief digital officer. At Rite Aid, he was promoted to executive VP in September 2019 and then in March 2022 was named chief digital and technology officer, which expanded his CIO role to include leadership of all digital and e-commerce operations and functions.