Walgreens CIO Leaving to Launch Marketing Startup

By Taylor Knight

Photo: Walgreens Boots Alliance

Walgreens Boots Alliance CIO Abhi Dhar will be leaving the company next month to launch an online marketing startup for the retail sector. Dhar, who has led Walgreens’ digital transformation, will be CEO of the new startup. The startup is currently raising a seed-funding round to launch the "stealth" company in two Illinois markets this year. The venture provides a marketing platform for retail locations to interact with qualified local customers.

"At this point in my life, if I don’t pursue the entrepreneurship path, I fear I never will and will live to regret it,” Dhar told CIO.com.

Dhar’s departure will certainly be a blow to Walgreens. He helped build a platform strategy around the company’s mobile app featuring payments, photos and reward points. This comes at a busy time for Walgreens — the Federal Trade Commission is currently reviewing the $9.4 billion Walgreens-Rite Aid merger.

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Taylor Knight Author's page Taylor Knight is an associate content editor for Target Marketing and Total Retail. She enjoys writing and creating video content to interact with an audience.