Walgreens appoints Neal Sample as new CIO

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has hired Neal Sample as its new chief information officer, filling the vacancy left by Hsiao Wang, who departed the company early last month.

Sample takes over as executive vice president and CIO effective immediately, Deerfield, Illinois-based WBA—parent of U.S. drug store giant Walgreens—said Wednesday. He had been retained as a technology consultant to Interim WBA CEO Ginger Graham starting in September.

In early October, WBA confirmed published reports that Wang had exited the company. According to Bloomberg News, Graham had indicated in an internal memo that Wang, on a leave of absence, was no longer with the company. Wang had joined WBA as CIO in late September 2022. The memo said WBA had tapped Sample as a tech adviser to Graham.

Tim Wentworth, a former Cigna executive and CEO of Express Scripts, took over as WBA’s full-time CEO on Oct. 23.

Neal Sample, EVP and CIO at Walgreens Boots Alliance. / Photo courtesy of WBA

Sample reports to Wentworth and serves on WBA’s executive and IT governance committees. WBA noted that he has been working with its technology leaders over the past month to evaluate and advance the company’s tech objectives. As CIO, he will oversee the strategy for WBA’s IT function and technology and digital innovation, with a focus on enhancing the digital experience for customers and patients as WBA transitions into a “customer-centric health care company,” WBA reported.

Related:Walgreens Boots Alliance taps former Cigna exec Tim Wentworth as CEO

“WBA has a powerful vision to be the leading partner in reimagining local health care and well-being for all,” Sample said in a statement. “I am eager and excited to continue working alongside an incredibly talented and dedicated team to advance technology and digital innovation at WBA toward our goal to be the independent partner of choice in pharmacy and health care services.”

Most recently, Sample was CIO for nearly three years at financial services firm Northwestern Mutual. Before that, he served as chief operating officer and CIO at pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, now part of health insurer Cigna. That followed group president and CIO roles for enterprise growth over almost four years at American Express. His background also includes various posts at eBay, Yahoo! and RightOrder.

He currently serves as board chairman at Wellfield Technologies and chairs the board of trustees for the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis.

“I am excited to welcome Neal to our executive leadership team and confident that as our CIO he will help take our IT capabilities to the next level using his strong background and experience in formulating modernization plans, implementing technology solutions, accelerating growth and redefining standards of execution excellence,” Wentworth stated. “He will be a key component to achieving our goals as we build on the company’s pharmacy strength and trusted brand to evolve health care delivery.”

Related:CIO Hsiao Wang marks latest Walgreens Boots Alliance C-suite exit

The appointments of Sample and Wentworth filled two of the three C-suite vacancies recently faced by WBA. In late July, the company named Manmohan Mahajan, senior vice president and global controller, to serve as interim global chief financial officer after the departure of James Kehoe in August. Kehoe had served in the post for over five years.