CVS Caremark announces 2011 retirement, succession plan for CEO Thomas Ryan

CVS Caremark announces 2011 CEO retirement plan

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark Corp. said Wednesday Chairman and CEO Thomas M. Ryan will retire next year, and its board has picked company executive Larry J. Merlo to succeed him.

The Woonsocket, R.I., drugstore chain says Ryan plans to step down in May 2011. The board appointed Merlo, 54, president and chief operating officer and anticipates he will replace Ryan as CEO.

Merlo also will be elected to the company’s board. He has 20 years of experience with CVS. He served recently as company executive vice president and president of its CVS/pharmacy retail operations.

Ryan, 58, has been with CVS for 36 years, including 16 years as president. He said in a statement from the company their plan provides for a “smooth, seamless transition in the leadership of CVS Caremark,” and he felt it was the right time to move forward with it.

The company has formed an office of the chairman to help with the transition. It includes Ryan, Merlo and Per Lofberg, president of the company’s pharmacy benefit management business, Caremark Pharmacy Services.

Last week, CVS Caremark said its first-quarter profit rose 4.5 percent, but a mild cold and flu season hurt sales. The company earned $771 million, or 55 cents per share, on $23.76 billion in revenue.

The company also raised the low end of its 2010 earnings guidance and now expects an adjusted profit of $2.77 to $2.84 per share this year, compared to a previous range of $2.74 to $2.84 per share.

CVS Caremark runs 7,063 drugstores around the country, about 400 hundred less than rival Walgreen Co.