There Are No Black Women CEOs Left On The S&P 500 After Rosalind Brewer’s Walgreens Exit 

Walgreens Boots Alliance recently announced the exit of Rosalind Brewer, the company’s former CEO. Her departure means there are no remaining Black female CEOs of an S&P 500 company. Brewer’s step down from the company makes Thasunda Brown Duckett of TIAA the sole Black woman left in the list of Fortune 500 executives.

According to reports, the company confirmed that Brewer’s leaving was a part of a mutually agreed decision after she’d served as Walgreens’ leader since March 2021. The drugstore chain’s share price has decreased by 47% since she came on board and led a push for the pharmaceutical company to venture into healthcare.

“I am confident that WBA is on track to be a leading consumer-centric healthcare company, serving thousands of communities across the country, especially those that need access to healthcare the most,” Brewer said in a prepared statement.

She added: “This is perhaps one of the most difficult notes I have ever written over the course of my career,” Brewer wrote on LinkedIn, announcing the move. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead Walgreens Boots Alliance and to work alongside such talented and dedicated colleagues.”

Reports also state that Brewer be a special adviser through February 2024.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead Walgreens Boots Alliance and to work alongside such talented and dedicated colleagues,” Brewer continued in a news release. “I am proud of what we accomplished together. We’ve improved the lives of our employees, expanded healthcare services for our customers and enhanced our ability to deliver on our purpose of ‘more joyful lives through better health.’ Over the past several years, we have recruited a world class team to WBA, including the first-ever Chief Customer Officer and the first-ever President of U.S. Healthcare, and invested deeply in the improvement of the Company’s overall culture.”

Her exit follows the departure of CFO, James Kehoe—independent director Ginger Graham has stepped in as interim CEO.