Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. today named Neal Sample as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, effective immediately.

Sample will report to Tim Wentworth, Chief Executive Officer of WBA, as a member of the Executive Committee and serve on the IT Governance Committee. He has been working alongside WBA technology leaders over the course of the last month to assess and advance the company’s technology goals.

“I am excited to welcome Neal to our executive leadership team and confident that as our CIO he will help take our IT capabilities to the next level using his strong background and experience in formulating modernization plans, implementing technology solutions, accelerating growth and redefining standards of execution excellence,” said Mr. Wentworth. “He will be a key component to achieving our goals as we build on the company’s pharmacy strength and trusted brand to evolve healthcare delivery.”

Moving forward, Sample will lead the strategy for WBA’s IT function and the implementation of its technology and digital innovation, with an emphasis on improving the digital experience for customers and patients, as WBA continues its next phase of growth into a customer-centric healthcare company.

Sample is an award-winning technologist and seasoned executive who has a strong track record of driving growth and innovation. He brings more than 20 years of deep experience across highly regulated industries including healthcare, financial services and consumer internet, and has worked at start-ups and legacy Fortune 100 companies.

He was previously the CIO for Northwestern Mutual, where he rebuilt, optimized and centralized the technology function for the company. Prior, he held roles at eBay, Yahoo! Inc. and RightOrder, Inc.

Sample is a thought leader in information technology, holding more than a dozen patents as the author of various published works. He earned his Doctorate and Master of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University and his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Wyoming.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Wellfield Technologies, Inc., as well as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, Missouri.