Walgreens-backed VillageMD is adding leadership roles to oversee its Village Medical, Summit Health and CityMD operations.
The executive appointments come as Walgreens sees VillageMD as a main growth engine for the company.
Dr. Rishi Sikka, formerly president of system enterprises at Sacramento, California-based Sutter Health, was named president of Village Medical, which offers primary care services at its clinics and via telehealth.
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Becky Levy was named president of Summit Health and Starling Physicians. She joined Summit, a multispecialty care provider, in 2011, and has served in chief legal, chief administrative and chief strategy officer roles there. Levy will help in the search for a new chief legal officer and manage legal operations in the interim.
Dr. Dan Frogel was named to a dual role of president and chief clinical officer at urgent care organization CityMD. He joined CityMD in 2013 when it merged with Premier Care, which he founded and where he served as chief medical officer. Frogel has also held roles as senior vice president of operations and chief medical officer of CityMD and Summit Health New York South division.
VillageMD agreed to buy Summit Health-CityMD for $8.9 billion in late 2022, and the transaction closed earlier this year.
Walgreens, which invested $5.2 billion in 2021 to become VillageMD's majority owner, is relying heavily on VillageMD's growth prospects, especially as the pharmacy chain's larger U.S. healthcare operations have experienced lackluster returns in recent quarters.
John Driscoll, president of U.S. healthcare, told investors on earnings call last week that he expects VillageMD operations to be a main growth driver for Walgreens in 2024. To achieve that, he said VillageMD will add density in high-volume markets and invest in its digital capabilities. It also is adjusting its physical footprint, with plans to close 60 clinics and exit five markets this coming year.
Despite those closures, VillageMD is still moving forward on plans to open hundreds of Village Medical clinics co-located with Walgreens pharmacies in the next few years.
