Last week, Walgreens Boots Alliance announced that Stefano Pessina will step down from the role of CEO. He will stay in his current position as the company commences a search for a new CEO, at which point he will transition into Executive Chairman. Pessina will replace James Skinner as Chairman, who will remain on the board as a director. Mr. Skinner has been a director of the company since 2005.
Pessina, a billionaire investor and the architect behind the impressive expansion of Alliance Santé, took the head job in July 2015 after Walgreens bought Alliance Boots, a pharmaceutical company.
During Pessina’s tenure WBA stock has declined by around (46)%, or 11% on an annual basis, while the S&P 500 has risen 59% during that same time frame.
One might not suspect these struggles had they only seen Pessina’s compensation, with him being paid over $64.6M over his 5 years leading the company. His relative Pay/ TSR Ratio last year of (76.6) would suggest that he was significantly overpaid. His pay has also consistently topped that of his peers.
Walgreens has struggled to adapt to COVID-19, and recently posted very disappointing 3rd quarter results.
Keep an eye out as they search for a new CEO to bring the company back on track.
