Walgreens names new CMO

Walgreens Walgreens has named Linda Filler as president of retail products and chief merchandising officer effective Jan. 1.

Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson said: “With the addition of Linda, our retail products division will be well-positioned to join with Alliance Boots to deliver the unique combination of products and services that will set apart our future combined company.”

Filler will be responsible for the vision, leadership, strategic direction and performance of all Walgreens merchandising activities. Most recently, Filler was president of Claire’s Stores. Claire’s operates more than 3,000 stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe and also franchises nearly 450 stores in 30 countries primarily in the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia and Central and South America.

Prior to Claire’s, she was executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for Sam’s Club, where she also led the owned brand strategy. She also held executive vice president positions at Walmart and Kraft Foods Group, Inc., and leadership positions of increasing responsibility at Hanes Brands in the Sara Lee Corporation.

“Linda brings to Walgreens significant experience in merchandising, marketing and strategy in a variety of industries and will be a great addition to our leadership team and our retail products division,” said Alex Gourlay, Walgreens president of customer experience and daily living, and president-elect of Walgreen Co. “With her deep experience across a broad range of product lines and strong supplier relationships, Linda has the expertise to understand what our customers want and to innovate quickly to create an experience that drives loyalty and results. She brings considerable global experience as we anticipate closing Step 2 of our strategic partnership with Alliance Boots in the first quarter of calendar 2015, and I believe our team members will appreciate her natural, collaborative leadership style.”