George Coleman to depart CVS Health
The senior vice president of merchandising, George Coleman, at CVS Health announced his departure from the company.
Coleman, who will be leaving in early July, cited the reason behind his decision as choosing to be with his wife in Italy.
“I'm writing to inform you that I am leaving CVS Health in early July. It’s not an easy decision, but it’s a decision driven by my heart. Many of you are familiar with my story. Three years ago I married my wife, an Italian citizen,” Coleman wrote in a letter. “Despite our best attempts, we’ve been unable to consistently live together in the United States. We’ve spent the last three years hopping back and forth across the Atlantic for extended stays and visits, but we’re married and want to be with each other every day. One of the silver linings of the pandemic was that I was able to work from Europe and shift my workday to accommodate an East Coast schedule, but that’s not a sustainable approach to balancing my personal and professional life.”
In 2012, Coleman joined CVS Health as its vice president of merchandising and took over the senior vice president of merchandising role in 2019.
“It’s been a tough choice to make, especially given the timing of Neela Montgomery’s arrival as president of CVS Pharmacy. Neela’s fantastic, and I firmly believe she’s the right person to lead our retail organization into the future. Her background in e-commerce and omnichannel is exactly what we need. I know she’s looking forward to spending time getting to know you now as we ease back into a normal business environment,” Coleman said.
“She’s actively looking for my successor and, until she finds one, please know that my outstanding team is still in place and ready to work with you. I have always enjoyed my interactions with the supplier community. You all have taught me so much and have been such great partners to me and my teams, that I just want to say, thank you. CVS Health is a wonderful company, and though it pains me to leave, I know in my heart I’m doing the right thing.”
Prior to those roles, Coleman was a partner with Accenture’s retail strategy consulting practice for more than 15 years and also spent two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa.