Last week's announcement that Jeffrey Rein had suddenly resigned as chairman and chief executive officer at Walgreens has led to speculation that the new path he had charted for the company - using acquisitions to grow the company - had been rejected by the company's board.
Walgreens has long been known for its commitment to organic growth and maintaining low debt levels as it grew as fast as company profits would take it.
"Jeff went off in much different direction," Scott Mushkin, managing director for Jefferies & Co., told Crain's Chicago Business. "Clearly, there was concern about the strategy Jeff was following," he added.
In the just over two years that Mr. Rein led Walgreens, the company took a different path acquiring businesses, including the specialty pharmacy Option Care and Take Care, the in-store clinic operator. He also led an unsuccessful bid for Longs Drug Stores following an offer by rival CVS Caremark.
While Mr. Rein is seen as having departed from the traditional Walgreens' script, he has supporters.
"He's played an integral part in making Walgreen a successful drugstore chain," said Love Goel, chairman and CEO of growth Ventures Group, told Crain's.
Discussion Questions: What is your assessment of Walgreens' direction under the leadership of Jeffrey Rein the past couple of years? Where do you think the company has to go now? Should it be searching for a new leader that is part of the Walgreens' culture or someone from the outside?