DSN Women Leaders 2014: Sona Chawla, Walgreens

Sona Chawla, in her role as president of digital and chief marketing officer at Walgreens, is the architect who has effectively molded the Walgreens brand so that it fits into their customer’s apirations. “[It] is all about creating customer loyalty through the right customer experiences, initiatives and campaigns across all channels,” she told DSN. “Walgreens champions everyone’s right to be happy and healthy, and our company’s purpose continues to excite me with opportunities ahead.”

One of her biggest projects of late is Balance Rewards for Healthy Choices, which was launched earlier this year. “It’s a platform that takes our physical and digital assets and allows key partners to integrate with us to help people get fit, lose weight and manage their health.” As part of the program, Walgreens announced a partnership with WebMD and started selling a new Walgreens-brand wearable device in its stores. 

Chawla got her start in consulting with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) and Mitchell Madison Group. She also has served as EVP online sales and marketing for Wells Fargo and VP global online business at Dell. “Working as a consultant gave me a good external perspective, which I was able to take with me before taking on roles within financial services and technology organizations, she said. “Walgreens is my first role in retail.”

If Chawla could go back to the beginning of her career, she’d tell herself, “Practice discipline but be bold; embrace failure knowing that success isn’t automatic; be persistent and remember to enjoy life to the fullest,” she said. “One of my favorite quotes, spoken by one of tech’s best, Steve Jobs, is to be comfortable knowing that ‘the dots will connect when you look back.’”

In addition to directing Walgreens’ digital strategy, Chawla served on the board of directors of Express and on the board of trustees for the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. 

To view the full DSN Women Leaders 2014 report, click here.