WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Longtime CVS merchandising and beauty executive Cheryl Mahoney has passed away after a long illness, Chain Drug Review has learned.

Mahoney, who died on Sunday, was with the company for more than 40 years, most recently as vice president of retail merchandising and promotion and business development at CVS Health.

Cheryl Mahoney

“Cheryl Mahoney was part of the CVS family for over 40 years, and we are deeply saddened to learn of her passing,” Helena Foulkes, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Pharmacy, said in a statement on Monday. “As CVS Pharmacy’s first female vice president, Cheryl paved the way for women leaders and demonstrated an unforgettable combination of strength, leadership and grace during her tenure. Cheryl led the beauty team at CVS for many years and made a lasting impact on the industry.”

In the role of vice president of retail merchandising and promotion and business development, Mahoney was responsible for maximizing the impact and profitability of the CVS promotional efforts across all front-store categories. In addition to optimizing the use of the circular for promotion, she led the merchandising transition to a more personalized approach to promotion via the CVS ExtraCare loyalty program. Mahoney also oversaw the effort aimed at creating the right merchandising assortments for the store clustering initiative.

She was named to that position in January 2013 after serving as vice president of beauty and personal care.

During her decades at CVS Pharmacy, Mahoney observed firsthand significant change in the beauty industry. She also spearheaded various initiatives that helped the chain’s beauty care offerings to customers become more sophisticated as well as diverse.

After getting her start working part time as a sales associate at a CVS store while going to school, Mahoney found that she really liked retailing. So after college she entered CVS’ store management program, where she ran different volume stores. She was then promoted to assistant category buyer for cosmetics in 1980. Her early experience working in the stores was invaluable to her career, Mahoney believed, because it helped her better understand the consumer.