Rite Aid names chief marketing officer
Rite Aid has made it permanent.
The pharmacy retailer named Jeanniey Walden as senior VP and chief marketing offcier, making permanent a former interim role she has held since joining Rite Aid March 2023.
Prior to Rite Aid, Walden served as chief innovation and marketing officer of DailyPay, where she worked closely with large grocery and retail brands such as Target, Dollar Tree and Kroger, overseeing strategies focused on improving the omnichannel customer journey, according to a release by Rite Aid. Previously, she had leadership roles at Barnes & Noble, Mercer, Ogilvy, and JCPenney.
Walden’s appointment follows a string of departures at Rite Aid. Last week, news broke that Justin Mennen, executive VP and chief digital and technology officer, had stepped down effective immediately.
In March, Andre Persaud, chief retail officer, left the company. Also in March, Rite Aid stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that Paul Gilbert gave notice of his intent to resign as executive VP, chief legal officer and secretary “to pursue other opportunities.”
“As we continue to accelerate our performance through bold strategy, focused execution and experienced leadership, we are pleased to permanently welcome Jeanniey to the Rite Aid team,” said Busy Burr, who was named interim CEO of Rite Aid in January following the departure of Heyward Donigan. “As an accomplished marketeer with a customer-centric approach, Jeanniey will lead the charge to strengthen and enhance the ways we conveniently meet our customers’ changing needs, helping us further our mission to provide whole health for life.”
Walden will continue to play a critical role in the company’s growth strategy to help create meaningful customer, client, and member experiences, the retailer said, and she also will oversee the expansion of Rite Aid’s ice cream brand, Thrifty.
“I’m incredibly excited to join Rite Aid in a permanent capacity to continue innovating our customer-first culture and our approach to customer engagement and loyalty,” said Walden.” As the neighborhood health and wellness destination, we’re proud to meet all of our customers’ needs—whether they are picking-up a prescription, stocking-up on essentials for the whole family, or treating themselves to our iconic Thrifty ice cream. Our commitment to improving health outcomes and helping our communities thrive remains paramount.”
Rite Aid employs more than 6,300 pharmacists and operates more than 2,300 retail pharmacy locations across 17 states.