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Dive Brief
Jason Stenta, who has held roles at Optum and CVS Health, joins as the company considers selling its stake in VillageMD and contends with shareholder litigation.
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Name: Jason Stenta
Previous title: SVP, payer sales, Optum
New title: SVP and and chief commercial officer, Walgreens
Courtesy of Walgreens
Stenta will officially join Walgreens early this month, according to a Monday press release.
He’s tasked with overseeing the company’s commercial growth strategy, enhancing development and commercialization of business-to-business healthcare services, and fostering partnerships with payers and providers.
Stenta brings approximately 20 years of industry experience to the position, having held leadership roles at CVS Health, Change Healthcare and Optum, according to his LinkedIn profile.
His appointment comes as the retail pharmacy and healthcare giant has struggled amid weakening sales and lower reimbursement in its core pharmacy business.
Last month, the company’s share price dipped to its lowest level in decades following news of a shareholder lawsuit against Walgreens’ top executives. Shareholders accused CEO Tim Wentworth and CFO Manmohan Mahajan of misleading investors about Walgreens’ financial performance for nearly a year.
They lawsuit claims the executives began inflating the financial outlook for Walgreens’ pharmacy business last fall, concealing industry headwinds that would “require significant restructuring in order to create a sustainable model.”
Meanwhile, Walgreens is considering a selloff that would significantly alter its retail business. In August, the company said it was considering selling its stake in primary chain VillageMD, which it has invested in since 2020.
Although the company has poured billions of dollars into the primary care investment, VillageMD never proved profitable for Walgreens — its declining value contributed to almost all of the company’s second quarter $6 billion net loss. Walgreens began to close centers this year.
Walgreens’ broad problems, ranging from pharmacy to retail concerns, caused credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings to downgrade the company from ‘BB’ from ‘BBB-’ in July, landing Walgreens into speculative-grade territory.
Emily Olsen 
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Dave Wilson