Dive Brief:

• Walgreens Boots Alliance has tapped Adam Holyk as its new chief marketing officer, with Joe Hartsig named chief merchandising officer, Drug Store News reports.

• The two executives will fill the shoes of Linda Filler, Walgreens Boots Alliance's president of retail products and chief merchandising and marketing officer, who is leaving the drugstore chain effective April 1. 

• Both are Walgreens veterans: Holyk joined in 2011 and Hartsig joined in 2015. They will report to co-COO Alex Gourlay.

Dive Insight:

Holyk and Hartsig have big shoes to fill: Filler is leaving Walgreens in a stronger position as a retailer than rival drugstore chain CVS, which appears to be throwing most of its weight behind its healthcare operations. Highlights of Filler's tenure include the launch of Beauty Enthusiast, a new club within its Balance Rewards loyalty program created to capitalize on the strength of its retail beauty sales.

Not all is well, however. With Walgreens Boots Alliance's proposed merger with Rite Aid in jeopardy due to antitrust concerns, the retailers in January agreed to reduce the price for each share of Rite Aid common stock to be paid by Walgreens. In addition, Walgreens Boots Alliance will be required to divest up to 1,200 Rite Aid stores and certain additional related assets to obtain regulatory approval. Walgreens and Rite Aid also agreed to extend their merger process end date to July 31 to allow additional time to obtain regulatory approval.

But at its shareholders meeting earlier this year, Walgreens Boots executives faced more questions about its merchandising than about the Rite Aid deal. Shareholders in particular pressed Walgreens on its cigarette sales: A few noted a study released by CVS showing that its decision to halt tobacco sales has led to an overall decrease in smoking among Americans. They also noted the incongruity of Walgreens’ position as a healthcare provider (especially one offering products and services to help people quit smoking), and one shareholder expressed concern about damaging the Walgreens brand by continuing sales of tobacco products.

Executive chairman James Skinner said that he hadn’t yet looked at the CVS study and added that the company spends a lot of time “trying to convince people to stop smoking… but we also respect the choice of our consumers — that’s also part of our decision over time.”

Holyk and Hartsig are just the latest additions to Walgreens' C-suite. The company earlier this month promoted Steve Turner to vice president and chief information officer effective April 1. Turner now serves as Walgreens vice president, service delivery and infrastructure, and has also held leadership roles there in e-commerce, data analytics, digital, mobile and infrastructure operations.