CVS Pharmacy gets a new president
CVS Health has named Neela Montgomery executive vice president and president of CVS pharmacy/retail, effective Nov. 30. Montgomery, who has nearly 20 years' experience in global retail, will oversee the company's 10,000 pharmacies across the United States.
"Neela is a seasoned retail industry leader with extensive digital and e-commerce experience," said Karen Lynch, who will become president and CEO of CVS Health in February 2021. "She brings deep consumer insights that will allow us to better anticipate consumers' changing needs and deliver even more value to our customers in local, personalized ways. Neela is well-positioned to lead CVS Pharmacy today and into the future."
The top spot at CVS Health's retail division has been formally vacant since January, when former CVS Pharmacy president Kevin Hourican departed to take the CEO spot at Sysco, with CVS Health COO Jon Roberts taking the reins in the interim.
Montgomery, currently a board partner at venture capital firm Greycroft, most recently served as CEO of furniture retailer Crate & Barrel, where she transformed its online sales channel to comprise more than 50% of the company's total revenue. In 2019 she was named to the "Top Women in Retail" list by the Women in Retail Leadership Circle. Prior to Crate & Barrel, she served as group executive board member of the Otto Group, a global retail and services group and one of the leading e-commerce retailers in the world.
Before joining Otto, she served as UK General Merchandise Director at Tesco, the British multinational retailer and a top 10 international retailer. She held a number of senior management positions with Tesco, including UK e-commerce director and chief merchant for Tesco Malaysia. She also is a member of Logitech's board of directors and was named a 2020 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
"I am thrilled to lead CVS Pharmacy with its 190,000 dedicated colleagues and join such an outstanding leadership team," said Montgomery. "CVS Pharmacy plays a unique and important role in the health needs and lives of Americans. Increasingly these health care touchpoints will be digital, virtual and in-person. This is a fantastic opportunity to help accelerate the company's bold vision to deliver consumer health services in the community and ensure CVS Pharmacy plays an essential role in customers' health moments."
Montgomery will report directly to Lynch and become a member of the company's executive team.