Rosalind Brewer

Rosalind Brewer is the former CEO of Walgreens. Brewer was responsible for improving the company’s revenue amid the pandemic and is tasked with overseeing the drugstore chain’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout. She was the only Black woman leading a Fortune 500 firm, and just the third Black woman in history to serve as a Fortune 500 CEO. Prior to her position with Walgreens, Brewer was Starbucks' first Black and first woman COO.

As chief operating officer and group president for Starbucks, Brewer led the company’s operating businesses across the Americas (Canada, U.S. and Latin America), as well as the global functions of supply chain, product innovation, and store development organizations. Roz was appointed to the Starbucks board of directors in March 2017.

Prior to joining Starbucks, Brewer served as president and chief executive officer of Sam’s Club, the eighth largest U.S. retailer with sales of $57 billion for fiscal year 2016. Roz joined Sam’s Club, the members-only warehouse channel of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 2012 and made history by becoming the first woman and first African American to lead a Walmart division. In 2016, Fortune ranked her #19 on its list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. During her time at the helm, she led the growth of Sam’s Club by focusing on three core areas: growing membership; transforming merchandise; and amplifying the use of digital technology to enable a seamless shopping experience at scale which led to sequentially improved comp sales.

She joined Walmart in 2006 as regional vice president and later became president of Walmart East, where her P&L responsibility exceeded $100 billion. Prior to Walmart, she was with Kimberly-Clark Corp. for 22 years, starting as a scientist and ultimately serving as president of the Global Nonwovens Sector in 2004. Brewer earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Spelman College in Atlanta and attended Wharton’s Advanced Management Program and Stanford University’s Directors’ College. She also chairs the board of trustees at Spelman College and is a former director of Molson Coors Brewing Company. She is a part of the 2021 Forbes Power Women's Summit. Brewer has joined the Board of Directors at American Airlines. Brewer is an influential leader with CEO experience, repeatedly recognized by Fortune and Forbes among their "Most Powerful Women in Busines.