Retail veteran is just the fifth CEO in the company's history

SEATTLE — Retail veteran Kathi Lentzsch has joined regional pharmacy chain Bartell Drugs as chief executive officer.

Lentzsch, most recently interim CEO of Gump’s, a luxury specialty  store and direct-to-consumer retailer based in San Francisco, marks only the fifth chief executive in Bartell Drugs’ history.

Kathi Lentzsch

She takes over from Brian Unmacht, who resigned from Bartell Drugs last March. Unmacht, who held the CEO post for two years, was the first person outside the Bartell family to head the company.

Lentzsch brings more than three decades of retail experience to Bartell Drugs, including as president, CEO and board member for Elephant Pharmacy, a Berkeley, Calif.-based pharmacy that also offered alternative remedies, patient education and health consultations.

Prior to that, she served as executive vice president of merchandising and marketing at Cost Plus World Market; senior vice president of merchandising at Pottery Barn, a division of Williams Sonoma, where she led the turnaround and repositioning of Pottery Barn into a well-known premium home brand; and as vice president of merchandising at Pier 1 Imports.

In addition, Lentzsch served as chief merchandising and marketing officer at global giftware wholesaler Enesco LLC and also as president of the Enesco Gift unit.

“Kathi’s experience as a CEO and the breadth of her retail experience will be ideal for leading Bartells,” Bartell Drugs chairman George Bartell said in a statement. “She brings a record of transforming businesses through innovation and entrepreneurial agility. This will be instrumental in growing the Bartells brand as the local chain expands its reach in the Puget Sound region.”

Overall, Bartell Drugs operates 67 drug stores in Washington’s King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.