SAN FRANCISCO — A new chief financial officer is slated to take the reins at McKesson Corp. starting next month.

James Beer

McKesson said Monday that James Beer, executive vice president and chief financial officer, is leaving the company to become CFO of Atlassian, a San Francisco-based enterprise collaboration company in February.

With Beer’s departure, Britt Vitalone, senior vice president and CFO of McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical and McKesson Specialty Health, has been promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer of McKesson Corp., effective Jan. 1.

Plans call for Beer to assist in a transition period into early 2018.

Beer has served as McKesson’s CFO since joining the pharmaceutical distribution giant in October 2013 from security software provider Symantec Corp.

He also has served as a member of the Celesio AG board since August 2015 and currently serves as a member of the economic advisory council for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

McKesson noted that, under Beer’s leadership, the company expanded its retail presence, grew its specialty drug capabilities, enhanced its technology offerings and formed Change Healthcare, among other achievements.

“James has been a wonderful colleague and friend. I admire his financial discipline and management and commitment to our company’s shared values,” McKesson chairman and chief executive officer John Hammergren said in a statement. “We wish James well as he pursues his next opportunity.”

Britt Vitalone

Vitalone came to McKesson in February 2006. Before his current role, he served as senior vice president of corporate financial planning and analysis and M&A finance and as senior vice president and CFO of McKesson Medical-Surgical.

Prior to joining McKesson, Vitalone held a variety of financial leadership positions with companies such as GE Financial Assurance, CarMax and Bausch & Lomb.

“For more than a decade, Britt has demonstrated an outstanding track record of performance in various finance and operational roles across multiple businesses at McKesson. The board of directors, executive committee and I are excited to appoint Britt,” Hammergren commented. “We are confident that Britt’s deep financial experience and knowledge about our businesses will serve us well as we build upon McKesson’s successes and position the company for future growth.”