BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The third-largest pharmacy business in the country has a new leader. Labeed Diab has been named senior vice president and president of health and wellness at Walmart, which has annual prescription drug sales of more than $22 billion.

The third-largest pharmacy business in the country has a new leader. Labeed Diab has been named senior vice president and president of health and wellness at Walmart, which has annual prescription drug sales of more than $22 billion.

The discounter is the nation’s No. 4 pharmacy operator by store count, with over 4,500 units.

Diab succeeds Dr. John Agwunobi, who has left Walmart after heading its prescription business for almost seven years.

Diab has a strong background in operations and health care. He most recently led the Walmart U.S. Midwest division as senior vice president. Under his leadership, the division became the first to penetrate the urban market, opening small-format stores throughout Chicago.

Diab began his career as a pharmacy manager with American Stores Co., then-parent of Jewel-Osco and Sav-on Drugs. He served in regional and divisional operations roles at CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp. before joining Walmart in 2009 as director of operations.

"As a college student, I decided to pursue a career in pharmacy," says Diab. "Health care was my passion then, and it remains my passion today.

"With millions of customers shopping our stores every day, we have a responsibility to provide best-in-class health care for our customers. In this new role, I look forward to going back to my days of educating customers and offering health care products and services that will help our customers live healthier lives."