Dreiling resigns as Duane Reade CEO, heads to Dollar General

NEW YORK Pharmacy retailer Duane Reade announced on Monday that chairman, president and chief executive officer Rick Dreiling has resigned to become chief executive officer of the 8,000-plus store discount chain Dollar General.

Serving as interim chief executive officer is David D’Arezzo, the company’s current chief marketing officer. In addition, Alan Lacy, senior adviser to Oak Hill Capital Partners and former chairman and chief executive officer of Sears Holdings, will work closely with D’Arezzo. Lacy also will be advising the 241-store chain on its permanent chief executive officer search.

The moves are effective Jan. 18, 2008.

“Duane Reade’s senior management team has led a successful turnaround over the last two years, significantly improving operations, increasing market share and enhancing the customer experience,” stated Tyler Wolfram, a director of Duane Reade and partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners. “This has resulted in record growth in same-store sales and a substantial increase in adjusted FIFO EBITDA. Rick leaves Duane Reade in an excellent position, and we thank him for his contributions to the company.”

In July 2004, the acquisition of Duane Reade was completed by a group of investors, including Oak Hill Capital Partners and members of its management team.

Added Dreiling, “I would like to express my gratitude to a talented team of senior managers and to all of the employees at Duane Reade who have worked so hard to help implement the company’s successful transformation. The recently reported third quarter marked the fourth consecutive quarter of industry leading same-store sales growth, and I continue to be very optimistic about the future for the company. I would also like to thank Oak Hill for being a terrific partner over the past two years.”

Dreiling, a former Longs Drug Stores executive, assumed the role of president and chief executive officer of Duane Reade in November 2005 and in March 2006 established a six-point turnaround plan dubbed Duane Reade Full Potential. The initiative centered on returning to the fundamentals of the business, and stabilizing and improving its current assets.