WOONSOCKET, R.I. — In becoming president of CVS/pharmacy, Helena Foulkes brings to the role a wealth of experience with diverse facets of the chain, especially health care offerings.

Helena Foulkes

Foulkes, 49, who succeeds Mark Cosby on January 1, has been CVS Caremark Corp.’s chief health care strategy and marketing officer, overseeing corporate strategy and enterprise marketing, government relations and communications.

Throughout her more than 20-year tenure with the company, Foulkes has held a wide range of roles in areas of the retail business including merchandising, marketing and store operations. Following the merger of CVS with Caremark, she led several integrated product/service teams and was instrumental in facilitating the evolution of the company’s overall health care strategy. Foulkes also led the company’s work in transforming the digital experience for consumers in health care.

“Helena is an open-minded and forward-thinking strategist who has developed a reputation for successfully building product and business model innovations that drive growth and for bringing together thought leaders both inside and outside the company,” said CVS Caremark president and CEO Larry Merlo. “Her industry track record includes leading innovations such as ExtraCare, the largest retail loyalty program in the country with approximately 70 million active cardholders. More recently, Helena has helped bring ground-breaking pharmacy health care programs to market, including Maintenance Choice and Pharmacy Advisor. She has held positions across the enterprise and understands how to meet the needs of both consumers and clients while delivering bottom line results.

“As health care continues to evolve and we drive further differentiation through our integrated pharmacy model, we need a leader who truly understands the health care consumer and the opportunities we can deploy to attract and retain customers and generate strong, longer-term growth,” he added.

In her new post Foulkes will have responsibility for all aspects of the company’s retail business including its more than 7,600 stores, 19 distribution centers and merchandising, supply chain, marketing, real estate, front-end and pharmacy operations. In addition, she will continue to oversee the company’s enterprise digital, brand and communications functions.

“I am honored to lead our talented retail team,” said Foulkes. “CVS Caremark has the unique ability to build consumer-centric health care solutions that improve access, control costs and lead to better health outcomes. I am excited to take on this new role and am committed to driving CVS/pharmacy’s continued strong growth. At the same time, I look forward to working closely with our enterprise leadership team to continue to introduce innovations that meet the changing needs of clients, patients and payors while driving growth for CVS Caremark.”

Merlo called Cosby, whose departure was announced last month, “an outstanding operator and retailer who has brought many positive changes to the organization.”