Former Rite Aid exec to head Sears pharmacy
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. Venerable pharmacy veteran Mark de Bruin has joined Sears Holdings as senior vp and president of pharmacy, Sears Holding announced Tuesday. “He has a wealth of expertise in developing and managing profitable retail, online and mail order pharmacy businesses,” the company stated.
De Bruin was most recently executive vice president of pharmacy for Rite Aid, with responsibilities for managed-care pharmacy, clinical services, procurement, operations, marketing, financial planning, business development and government relations. He joined Rite Aid Corporation in 2003 after spending four years at Albertsons as vice president of managed health care and pharmacy procurement, where he led the e-business strategy development for Savon.com, Albertson's online pharmacy.
In other personnel decisions announced Tuesday, Scott Freidheim has joined Sears Holdings as executive vice president of operating and support businesses and member of the internal holding company business unit board of directors. Freidheim has been with Lehman Brothers for more than 17 years, where he most recently served as chief administrative officer and executive vice president of Lehman Brothers Holdings.
And Nick Coe, most recently with Banana Republic, has joined Sears Holdings as senior vice president and president of Lands' End.
"A little less than a year ago, the company announced a bold effort to transform our business, to make it more entrepreneurial, more effective and more profitable,” stated Bruce Johnson, interim chief executive officer and president of Sears Holdings. “The addition of these great executives underscores the opportunities that Sears Holdings presents for talented individuals. Despite the tough market conditions, we plan to continue to add transformational leaders to our organization. This group of seasoned executives will help move Sears Holdings forward toward our financial priorities—improving margins, tightly controlling expenses and focusing on cash generation.”