Executive turnover continues at Walmart health

Dr. Cheryl Pegus, who joined Walmart in December 2020 to head up the retail giant’s health and wellness division, has exited the company to take a position at JP Morgan’s healthcare division.

Walmart has not yet appointed a successor for Pegus. Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner said in a statement the retailer is grateful to Pegus for advancing the company’s healthcare mission.

Pegus is the latest in a string of departures at the healthcare division. Prior to the hiring of Pegus, Sean Slovenski held that post from July 2018 to mid-2020, when he exited the company to become the CEO of startup BioIQ. Within 15 months, he had jumped ship again to become CEO of benefits manager Avesis.

When Slovenski left Walmart in mid-2020, other healthcare executives also followed. Karim Bennis, chief operating officer for Walmart health and wellness, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Thomas Van Gilder, and Chief Wellness Officer Phil Suiter also resigned.

This exodus was believed to be linked to Walmart’s shift in strategy following the pandemic. Walmart had originally planned to build 4,000 primary care clinics by 2029, but plans were scaled back once the pandemic hit. To date, Walmart operates 32 healthcare clinics in four states. There are 16 more planned to open in 2023.