Retail veterans take reins with departure of Linda Filler

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has appointed Joseph Hartsig as chief merchandising officer and Adam Holyk as chief marketing officer for Walgreens.

Joseph Hartsig

WBA said Friday that Hartsig and Holyk will start in their new positions on April 1. Both executives will report to WBA co-chief operating officer Alex Gourlay and join the Walgreens Enterprise Operating Committee.

Hartsig also will report to Annie Murphy, WBA’s chief customer officer for WBA, while Holyk will also have a reporting line to Andy Gibson, senior vice president and director global consumer brands for WBA.

Currently, Hartsig serves as senior VP of merchandising and omnichannel for Walgreens. In his new post, he will continue to lead the merchandising team, which he has done since last August, and will oversee digital commerce and mobile services, with a strategic focus on bolstering the retailer’s omnichannel capabilities, WBA said.

Adam Holyk

Hartsig joined Walgreens in September 2015 as group vice president of merchandising strategic projects and has led the marketing, loyalty and digital commerce organizations. Before coming to Walgreens, he was chief merchandising and marketing officer for Essendant, a Fortune 500 wholesaler of business essentials, and senior VP of merchandising at Sam’s Club.

In his new role, Holyk will return to Walgreens. He has served as VP of corporate strategy development at WBA since February 2015.

He started his career at Walgreens in August 2011 as divisional VP of customer loyalty and later became group VP of customer insights. Prior to Walgreens, Holyk held senior roles at market analytics specialist dunnhumby, working with Kroger Co., Macy’s and Shoppers Drug Mart, where he helped manage Canada’s leading retailer loyalty program, WBA noted.

With their appointments, Hartsig and Holyk will take over for Linda Filler, who holds the titles of president of retail products as well as chief merchandising and marketing officer and is slated to leave WBA effective April 1. Filler had begun at Walgreens as retail products president and chief merchant in January 2015, joining the drug chain from specialty retailer Claire’s Stores.