CVS Health CFO to take leave of absence, interim named

Pharmacy retailer CVS Health has announced that its chief financial officer will be taking a leave of absence.

Executive vice president, CFO and president of health services Shawn Guertin will be taking a leave of absence from his role due to unforeseen family health reasons. In response, senior vice president of corporate finance Tom Cowhey has been appointed interim CFO, and CEO of Oak Street Health Mike Pykosz has been named interim president of health services.

"Our thoughts are with Shawn and his family during this difficult period," said CVS Health president and CEO Karen S. Lynch. "The Board and I have every confidence that Tom and Mike will ensure we continue to execute our strategy seamlessly while we give Shawn time to be with his family."

Now serving as interim CFO, Cowhey joined CVS Health in February of 2022, previously serving as CFO of Surgery Partners Inc., and before that spent more than a decade at Aetna in various strategy and finance roles. Since joining CVS Health, he has overseen investor relations, corporate development, treasury and finance operations, working closely with Guertin and Lynch to manage the company's overall financial strategy.

Now serving as interim president of health services, Pykosz joined CVS Health following the acquisition of Oak Street Health in May of this year. As CEO and a co-founder of Oak Street, he grew the company into a leading multi-payor, value-based primary care platform. 

During his time at CVS Health, Pykosz has focused on running the Oak Street business, while also helping to unify all of CVS Health's care delivery assets. Oak Street operates approximately 600 primary care providers and more than 170 medical centers across 21 states. 

CVS Health plans to report third quarter earnings results on Nov. 1, 2023, and hold its Investor Day event on Dec. 5, 2023.

CVS operates more than 9,600 stores nationwide, employing more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners.