Walgreen CEO Gregory D. Wasson Joins Verizon Board Of Directors

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) today announced the election of Gregory D. Wasson, president and chief executive officer of Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG), to the Verizon Board of Directors, effective March 1.

" Greg Wasson brings to Verizon an in-depth knowledge of the retail and health care industries," said Lowell C. McAdam, Verizon chairman and chief executive officer.  "He offers a unique perspective as the leader of a successful Fortune 50 company focused on innovation, traditional and nontraditional growth, operational and technical excellence, and multichannel integration.  We welcome him as a valuable addition to our board."

Wasson will bring Verizon's total board membership to 13.

Wasson has been Walgreens president and CEO, and has served as a Walgreens director, since February 2009.  Walgreen Co. is based in Deerfield, Ill., and together with its subsidiaries operates the largest drugstore chain in the U.S., with $71.6 billion in net sales, 8,385 locations and 240,000 employees in fiscal 2012.

Wasson joined Walgreens as a pharmacy intern in 1980, and after earning his bachelor's degree from Purdue University in 1981 he managed several Houston Walgreens drugstores before being promoted to district manager in 1986.  He was promoted to a regional vice president of store operations in 1999.

In 2001, he was named executive vice president of Walgreens Health Initiatives, the company's pharmacy benefit manager.  Wasson was promoted to president of Walgreens Health Initiatives in 2002, and named a Walgreens senior vice president in 2004 and a Walgreens executive vice president in 2005.  He became president and chief operating officer of Walgreens in 2007 before being appointed CEO in 2009.

Wasson serves on the board of directors of Alliance Boots GmbH, the leading international pharmacy-led health and beauty group, in which Walgreens holds a 45 percent equity stake.

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