Bartell Drugs CEO resigns

SEATTLE — Bartell Drugs CEO Brian Unmacht resigned his post two weeks ago after two years on the job, senior communications manager Ric Brewer confirmed to Drug Store News.

“He left Bartells two-weeks ago to pursue professional and personal goals that he has,” Brewer said. “Our executive team is now running day-to-day operations until the search for a new CEO begins.”

More specifically, the drugstore chain’s executive team, led by Chief Financial Officer Rob Jensen, is in charge of day-to-day operations while the company begins a search for a new president and CEO, reported The Seattle Times.

Bartell family members, including George D. Bartell, chairman, and Jean Bartell Barber, vice chairman and treasurer, are “not stepping back into a leadership role in terms of day-to-day operations,” Brewer told the newspaper.

Unmacht is the only non-Bartell family member to be CEO in the company’s history. He previously served as COO at REI and became president at Bartell Drugs in January 2015 and was named CEO in April that year. He was just the fourth CEO in Bartell's history. 

As Drug Store News reported on April 6, Bartell Drugs most recently added treatment for a variety of minor medical care needs via a network of certified pharmacists. 

Seattle-based Bartell Drugs operates 65 locations in three Washington State counties.