Walgreens taps outsider to head finance, boosting Rudolphsen to risk management

DEERFIELD, Ill. Walgreens announced this afternoon it has named Wade Miquelon senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective June 16. He will replace William M. Rudolphsen, who has been named to the new role of senior vice president and chief risk officer.

Miquelon, 43, will report to chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Rein. One of the relatively few high-level Walgreens executives hired from outside the company instead of coming up through the ranks, the new chief financial officer comes from Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods, Inc., the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork, where he was an executive vice president and chief financial officer since 2006.

Prior to that, Miquelon spent 16 years with The Proctor & Gamble Company, the world’s largest consumer goods product company. At P&G, Miquelon was assigned to the company’s headquarters in Cincinnati and offices in Bangkok, Singapore and finally Geneva, Switzerland, where he was general manager and head of finance for Western Europe operations.

“Wade brings an excellent combination of financial knowledge, strategic thinking and operational experience, including mergers and acquisitions, that will serve us well,” said Rein. “He also has a strong background in consumer products and marketing, and is a solid leader with top communication skills. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Wade and believe he’ll be a good fit for us in this key role.”

As chief financial officer, Miquelon will oversee accounting, tax and treasury functions, including investor relations.

Rudolphsen, 53, becomes Walgreens’ first chief risk officer and will continue reporting to Rein. He will oversee the audit, loss prevention, compliance and enterprise risk management functions.

“Bill’s 31 years with Walgreens give him the deep knowledge of our company’s operations and financial sophistication needed for this position,” said Rein. “The CRO position is fast becoming a best practice among large companies.

“Given our size, complexity and the highly regulated industry in which we operate, separating the financial and audit functions and increasing our focus on risk identification and mitigation is a prudent move,” Rein added. “We’re glad to have a person of Bill’s caliber and integrity in such a role.”