Rosalind Brewer

Rosalind “Roz” Brewer is a distinguished executive and board member with a storied career spanning retail, consumer goods, and corporate leadership. She is the former CEO of Walgreens, where she strengthened company revenue amid the pandemic and oversaw the drugstore chain’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout. Brewer was the only Black woman leading a Fortune 500 company at the time, and just the third Black woman in history to serve as a Fortune 500 CEO.

Prior to Walgreens, Brewer served as Chief Operating Officer and Group President at Starbucks, where she led operations across the Americas, as well as global functions including supply chain, product innovation, and store development. She joined Starbucks’ board of directors in 2017, reflecting her strategic influence and leadership acumen.

Brewer also made history at Sam’s Club, a division of Walmart, serving as its first female and first African American CEO. Under her leadership, Sam’s Club grew membership, transformed merchandise, and amplified digital technology to deliver a seamless shopping experience, achieving consistently improved comparable sales. Earlier, she held executive roles at Walmart, including President of Walmart East with P&L responsibility exceeding $100 billion.

Before her retail career, Brewer spent 22 years at Kimberly-Clark, rising from scientist to President of the Global Nonwovens Sector. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Spelman College, and attended the Advanced Management Program at Wharton and Stanford University’s Directors’ College. She currently chairs the Spelman College Board of Trustees and serves on the boards of American Airlines and formerly Molson Coors Brewing Company.

A consistent presence on Fortune and Forbes lists of the “Most Powerful Women in Business,” Brewer is recognized as an influential leader shaping corporate strategy and diversity in leadership.