Rite Aid chief retail officer Andre Persaud departs

A key member of Rite Aid’s c-suite has departed.

Andre Persaud, chief retail officer at Rite Aid, has left the company. Bill Miller, senior VP of central retail operations, will serve as acting head of retail operations. Chief pharmacy officer Karen Staniforth will oversee store pharmacy operations.

Rite Aid offered no details on the reasons for Persaud’s departure, which comes some two months after the exit of CEO Heyward Donigan. Rite Aid board member Elizabeth (“Busy”) Burr is acting as interim CEO.

[Read More: Rite Aid CEO out amid ongoing losses]

Persaud, who in April was elected vice chairman of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, was promoted to chief retail officer of Rite Aid in May 2021. He joined the chain in 2020 as executive VP, retail. In a 2021 release announcing his promotion, Rite Aid said that, since joining the company, Persaud has overseen the company’s inventory and supply chain management, field team management, store operations, asset protection, and facility maintenance and repairs.

Persaud began his career as a pharmacist with Walmart Canada in 1994. Several years later, he was named national pharmacy operations manager.

After Walmart, Persaud spent seven years at Canada’s Shoppers Drug Mart, going on to hold executive positions at Burlington Stores and ShopKo.