Rosalind G. Brewer was born in 1962 in Detroit, Michigan. She is an American businesswoman. She has been the CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance since March 2021. Brewer is one of just two Black female CEOs of Fortune 500 firms.
After graduating from Cass Technical High School in Detroit in 1980, Brewer enrolled in Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in chemistry. She then took a job as a research technician at Kimberly-Clark.
Brewer finished the Director’s College programme at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Stanford Law School, as well as the Advanced Management Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She has since then worked in various capacities at reputable organisations.
Brewer became Amazon’s sole African American director in 2019. She also served as a director on the boards of directors for Molson Coors and Lockheed Martin.
Brewer became president and CEO of Sam’s Club in 2012, becoming the first African American to hold that position within a Walmart business.
Brewer was appointed Starbucks’ group president and COO on September 6, 2017. In addition to becoming the first African American woman to hold the positions of COO and group president at Starbucks, she also rose to the second-highest management position at the company, behind CEO Kevin Johnson. She oversaw companies and operations in the US, Canada, and Latin America.
The arrest of two black men at a Starbucks branch in Philadelphia sparked worldwide demonstrations and bad press for the company not long after she assumed the roles of COO and Group President. Brewer and her team responded by changing policies and implementing racial bias training for staff members in 8,000 locations.
Brewer, the only African American woman currently in charge of a Fortune 500 corporation, was chosen as CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance on March 15, 2021.
Recognitions
In 2020, Brewer was ranked by Fortune as the 27th Most Powerful Woman in the World and Forbes’ 48th in their World’s 100 Most Powerful Woman.
In 2017, Brewer was awarded a Legacy of Leadership award by Spelman College.
On 15th Sep 2015, Brewer was one of Fortune’s ‘Most Powerful Woman’ rankings.
In 2013, Working Mother named Brewer as one of the Most Powerful Working Moms.
Brewer was selected for the inaugural 2021 Forbes 50 Over 50 list of entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists and creators who are over 50years.
Brewer was named as one of one of USA Today’s Women of the Year in 2022.
Rosalind Brewer is married to John Brewer and they have two kids.
