WOONSOCKET, R.I. — David Denton has been promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer at CVS Caremark Corp., succeeding David Rickard, who is retiring.

Currently senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer, Denton is slated to take over the CFO role starting January 1, CVS Caremark said Thursday.

Rickard, who also holds the title of chief administrative officer, announced his plans to retire in February.

To his new position, Denton brings nearly 20 years of financial management experience, with a focus on the health care and retail drug sectors, CVS Caremark said. Since joining the company in 1999, he has held senior finance positions within CVS/pharmacy and CVS Caremark and served as CFO for the PharmaCare subsidiary.

The company said Denton’s selection as CFO came after an eight-month search that included internal and external candidates.

"Dave’s broad financial experience, industry expertise and deep understanding of our company will make him an outstanding CFO," chairman and chief executive officer Tom Ryan said in a statement. "His passion for our customer, coupled with his value-based leadership skills, will help him excel in his new role."

Laird Daniels, vice president of finance and retail controller for CVS/pharmacy, has been named to replace Denton in his current role as controller and chief accounting officer. With CVS Caremark since 1997, Daniels has nearly 20 years of financial management experience, the company said.