Walgreens taps former Wellpoint strategist as chief strategy officer

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens recently announced the appointment of Brad Fluegel as SVP and chief strategy officer. Fluegel will be responsible for corporate strategy, business development, project management and the corporate consulting team while also working on venture capital efforts. 

Fluegel joined Walgreens after previously serving as executive in residence at Health Evolution Partners. Before that he was EVP and chief strategy and external affairs officer of Wellpoint, a large health benefits company. While at Wellpoint, Fluegel was responsible for long-term strategic planning; government affairs; corporate communications, including public relations; corporate marketing; corporate development; international expansion; innovation and new business ventures.

Prior to Wellpoint, Fluegel was SVP national accounts and VP enterprise strategy at Aetna. In this role, he led the national accounts business and was responsible for developing and executing on strategies that expanded Aetna’s position as a leader in the large employer market. As head of enterprise strategy, Fluegel worked closely with Aetna’s executive committee and board of directors to advance the company’s medium- and long-term business strategies, and ran an internal consulting group responsible for driving the management process and operating efficiency across the enterprise.

Earlier, Fluegel was CEO for Reden & Anders (Ingenix Consulting) and Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, a clinical, actuarial and management consulting practice that served all sectors of the healthcare industry. While there, he negotiated the sale of Tillinghast Health to Ingenix. Fluegel also held several roles in strategy, planning and product development, and management at Harvard Community Health Plan, and organized and led audits, feasibility studies and related projects for healthcare clients at Arthur Andersen & Co.

Fluegel earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor of arts in business administration from the University of Washington. He also serves as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.