Sean Slovenski

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal­mart has hired health care industry veteran Sean Slovenski to serve as senior vice president of health and wellness at Walmart U.S. He will report directly to Walmart U.S. president and chief executive officer Greg Foran.

“Sean is a proven leader and entrepreneur with an established track record in defining and building businesses within the health care industry,” Foran wrote in an internal Walmart email. “Previously Sean served as president of the population health division for Healthways, one of the nation’s largest and most awarded population health and wellness companies with more than $700 million in annual revenue. Sean has also served as CEO of Care Innovations, an Intel-GE joint venture company, and was vice president of Innovation at Humana. I am delighted to bring such an experienced executive on board to lead a critical area of our ­business.

“Health and wellness is a complex and dynamic industry, and I believe we have an important role to play in making health care more affordable and accessible for our customers. Because of its strategic importance, we’ve decided to put more focus on our health and wellness business in the near term.”

Marybeth Hays, who currently oversees the health and wellness business at Walmart U.S., is “fully engaged in this transition,” Foran added, promising to share more details about her new responsibilities at a later date. Latriece Watkins will continue to lead Walmart U.S.’ consumables business, and will report to chief merchandising officer Steve Bratspies.

The move comes as Walmart and Humana look for ways to broaden their alliance to provide health care to consumers. Walmart has been looking to expand its health business for years and could use a partnership with an insurer to take on a more powerful role in the delivery of medications to ­consumers.

The companies already work together on prescription drug plans for individuals in the U.S. Medicare program. The plans offer some prescriptions for $1, as long as customers pick up their drugs at a Walmart or Sam’s Club outlet.