Gregory David Wasson (born October 19, 1958) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and president of Wasson Enterprise, a family-based investment office, the executive chairman of Innventure, co-founder of CoolerScreens, and the former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA). Prior to the merge of Walgreens and Alliance Boots, Wasson was president and CEO of Walgreens, the US's largest retail community pharmacy chain from 2009 to 2014. Wasson is on the board of directors of

Health Care Service Corporation Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, is a member-owned health insurance company in the United States. HCSC was formerly known as ''Hospital Service Corporation'' and changed its name to ''Health Care Service Cor ...

(HCSC), The Economic Club of Chicago, Corporate Leadership Center, and the Museum of Science and Industry.

Early life

Wasson was born October 19, 1958, in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

, to Richard and Phyllis Wasson. His family lived in

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

until he was 13, and then moved to nearby

Monticello, Indiana Monticello ( ) is a city in and the county seat of White County, Indiana, United States. The population was 5,508 at the 2020 census. Monticello is known as a tourist destination in north-central Indiana and is home to the Indiana Beach amuseme ...

. Wasson graduated from Twin Lakes High School. Wasson studied pharmacy at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and met his future wife there. They married on their graduation day in 1981.

Career

Walgreens

Wasson joined

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

as a pharmacy intern in 1980. Three days after graduating from college, he relocated to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

as a management trainee. He was managing his first store four months later. He was promoted to district manager in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

in 1986, with 30 store managers reporting to him. Wasson was promoted to a regional vice president of the store operations division in 1999. He was promoted to district manager in

in 1986, with 30 store managers reporting to him. Wasson was promoted to a regional vice president of the store operations division in 1999. In 2001, he was promoted again to Walgreens vice president and made an executive vice president of Walgreens Health Initiatives, the company's pharmacy benefit manager (PBM). Wasson was promoted to president of Walgreens Health Initiatives in 2002, Walgreens senior vice president in 2004 and to a Walgreens executive vice president in 2005. In 2007, he was named president and chief operating officer of Walgreens, succeeding

Jeff Rein Jeff Rein (born 1953) is a former chairman and chief executive officer of Walgreens, a drug store chain in the United States. Rein was born in New Orleans in 1953, lived in Phoenix, and came to Tucson at age 10 when his family relocated. He liv ...

. In 2009, he was named CEO. In 2007, he was named president and chief operating officer of Walgreens, succeeding

. In 2009, he was named CEO. In 2012, Walgreens and

Alliance Boots Alliance Boots was a multinational pharmacy-led health and beauty group with corporate headquarters in Bern, Switzerland and operational headquarters in Nottingham and Weybridge, United Kingdom. The company had a presence in over 27 countries ...

entered into a strategic transaction to create the first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. After two years, on December 31, 2014, Walgreens completed the global merger with Alliance Boots —a pharmacy-led health and beauty group across Europe with a presence in more than 25 countries. After the close of the second step of the Alliance Boots transaction, Wasson retired from Walgreens after a 35-year career with the company.

Wasson Enterprise

In 2016, Greg and his wife Kim Wasson founded Wasson Enterprise, an investment firm whose goal is to

commercialize Commerce is the organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through transactional processes) of goods, services, and ...

sustainable businesses. Wasson Enterprise's first partnership was with Innventure, which seeks to commercialize disruptive technology for multinational organizations. Wasson is also the co-founder of CoolerScreens, an in-store

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based Information technology, digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and service ...

and merchandising platform.

Appointments

In addition to his role at Wasson Enterprise, Wasson was on the board of directors of several companies. He sat on the board of

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

from March 2013 through October 2018, and was on the board of

PNC Financial Services Group The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 states and the District of Columbia, with 2,629 b ...

from July 2015 through October 2018. He has also been a director of

(HCSC), the largest customer-owned health insurance company, since November 2015. Wasson has been a director of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a global pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution services, with which Walgreens has a long-term

strategic partnership A strategic partnership (also see strategic alliance) is a relationship between two commercial enterprises, usually formalized by one or more business contracts. A strategic partnership will usually fall short of a legal partnership entity, agency ...

, and a directorsof Alliance Boots GmbH. Wasson has been a director of AmerisourceBergen Corporation, a global pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution services, with which Walgreens has a long-term

, and a directorsof Alliance Boots GmbH. Past roles include chairman of National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) the vice chairman of Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), member of the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC),

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

CEO Council, and the civic committee of the

Commercial Club of Chicago The Commercial Club of Chicago is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare organization founded in 1877 with a mission to promote the social and economic vitality of the metropolitan area of Chicago. History The Commercial Club was founded in 187 ...

, as well as being a member of the British-American Business Council International Advisory Board. He served many years as a board member of

Consumer Goods Forum The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) is a global, industry-led network that brings together over 400 member companies, including retailers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders from 70 countries in the consumer goods industry. It focuses on driving posi ...

(CGF),

The Field Museum The Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), also known as The Field Museum, is a natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educationa ...

, and the Midtown Educational Foundation and a member of the Illinois chapter of the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

's CEOs Against Cancer. Wasson is on the trustee board of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) and is a member of The Business Council, Corporate Leadership Center, The Economic Club of Chicago, The Commercial Club of Chicago and Chicago Club. Wasson is on the trustee board of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) and is a member of The Business Council, Corporate Leadership Center, The Economic Club of Chicago, The Commercial Club of Chicago and Chicago Club. In 2015, Wasson received the Sheldon W. Fantle Lifetime Achievement Award from National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ (NACDS) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) gave Wasson the GMA Hall of Achievement Award. In 2016, he received two awards from Purdue University, the Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Career Achievement Award.

SEC charges

In 2018, the SEC charged Wasson, Walgreens, and former Walgreens CFO

Wade Miquelon Wade Miquelon (born October 28, 1964) is an American business executive and former CEO of Jo-Ann Stores. He was previously an executive at Procter & Gamble and Walgreens. Education Miquelon received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engine ...

for misleading investors during Greg's time at the company. While neither admitting nor denying the findings, Wasson agreed to pay a fine of $160,000. Walgreens agreed to pay $34.5 million, while Miquelon also paid a $160,000 penalty. Within a week of the agreement, Wasson resigned his board positions with Verizon Communications and

Personal life

Wasson married Kimberly "Kim" Wasson (née Munt) on May 16, 1981, and they have two daughters. He and his family attend Long Grove Community Church, where his wife Kim previously was the compassion/outreach ministry leader.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasson, Greg 1958 births Living people Purdue University College of Pharmacy alumni American health care chief executives People from Delphi, Indiana Businesspeople from Indiana People from Monticello, Indiana Walgreens people American retail chief executives