DEERFIELD, Ill. — Bryan Pugh, who for the past year has held a key role at Walgreen Co. coordinating operations and merchandising functions, left the drug chain last week.

Most recently, Pugh held the title of vice president of U.S. merchandising, program development and execution. His post had been newly created about one year ago and included responsibility for overseeing the rollout of new merchandising initiatives to the field and flagship rollouts, among other merchandising roles.

“Bryan has been a respected and committed executive of the company for the past six years, and we thank him for all he’s done to enable our front-end strategy,” a Walgreens spokesman said. “As our evolving business strategy was discussed with Bryan, all agreed it was the right time for him to look for other opportunities.”

Pugh joined the drug chain in early 2009 after spending several years in Asian retailing.Earlier this year, he received Mass Market Retailers‘ first Retail Achievement Award in recognition of his career accomplishments. At that time, he noted the strong blend of talent in the team working with him and how this positioned the chain to open new stores in various formats.