Walgreens Boots Alliance names Neal Sample as CIO

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) has appointed Neal Sample as its new executive vice president and chief information officer (CIO), effective immediately.

Sample, the company said, will report to Tim Wentworth, chief executive officer (CEO) of WBA, as a member of the executive committee and serve on the IT governance committee.

“I am excited to welcome Neal to our executive leadership team and confident that as our CIO he will help take our IT capabilities to the next level using his strong background and experience in formulating modernization plans, implementing technology solutions, accelerating growth and redefining standards of execution excellence,” said Wentworth.

The company added that he has been working alongside WBA technology leaders over the course of the last month to assess and advance the company’s technology goals. Moving forward, he will lead the strategy for its IT function and the implementation of its technology and digital innovation, with an emphasis on improving the digital experience for customers and patients, as WBA continues its next phase of growth into a customer-centric healthcare company.

Sample brings more than 20 years of deep experience across highly regulated industries including healthcare, financial services and consumer internet, and has worked at start-ups and Fortune 100 companies. He currently serves as chairman of the board at Wellfield Technologies, Inc., as well as the chair of the board of trustees for the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, Missouri.

“I am eager and excited to continue working alongside an incredibly talented and dedicated team to advance technology and digital innovation at WBA toward our goal to be the independent partner of choice in pharmacy and healthcare services,” added Sample.

Sample was previously the CIO for Northwestern Mutual, prior to which, he served as chief operating officer and CIO of Express Scripts. He also held several roles within the enterprise growth business at American Express including EVP, chief marketing technologist, and CIO, before being named president. Sample previously held roles at eBay, Yahoo! Inc. and RightOrder, Inc.