Walgreens Boots Alliance’s HR chief to retire
Walgreens Boots Alliance soon will have a new global human resources leader. The company said Monday that Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, its executive vice president and global chief human resources officer, would be retiring, naming Pamela Puryear as her successor, effective Jan. 18.
Wilson-Thompson joined Walgreens in January 2010 as senior vice president and chief human resources officer, moving into her current role with WBA in December 2014. Prior to Walgreens, she was senior vice president of global human resources at Kellogg for four years. In addition to her role at Walgreens Boots Alliance, she is a board member for Tesla and various nonprofit community organizations.
“Never has Kathleen’s contribution to the company been stronger than in 2020, whether leading Human Resources actions during the pandemic or being a strong voice for all during the racial equity movement,” said WBA co-COO Ornella Barra. “Kathleen has been a trusted leader, advocate for change, driver of business transformation, and more to so many of us over the years, and she will be missed greatly at WBA. Kathleen left us stronger than where she found us.”
Puryear, who will fill Wilson-Thompson's role, joins WBA from musculoskeletal healthcare company Zimmer Biomet, where she has led its human resources efforts as a member of the company’s leadership team. She also has experience at Pfizer, where she was senior vice president and chief talent officer for three years, as well as Hospira, where she was chief talent officer for six years.
“Pamela is a true leader of transformation, and we are delighted she is joining us. Our vision in Human Resources is that every day we inspire and support all of our colleagues across the globe, to care for our customers, patients and communities,” Barra said. “Pamela’s experience operating as a human resources leader in the healthcare industry will help to further strengthen the core of our business as we accelerate our digital future, with a special focus in Human Resources on culture, talent and employee experience.”