SEATTLE — Retail veteran Kathi Lentzsch has been named chief executive officer of Bartell Drugs. She succeeds Brian Unmacht, who resigned last spring. Unmacht was the first person outside of the Bartell family to head the company.

Lentzsch has more than three decades of retail experience with executive positions in companies including Pier 1 Imports and Cost Plus World Market. As senior vice president of merchandising at Williams Sonoma/Pottery Barn, she led the turnaround and repositioning of Pottery Barn into a well-known premium home brand. She most recently was interim CEO of Gump’s, a luxury specialty  store and direct-to-consumer retailer based in San Francisco. She also previously served as president/CEO and board member for Elephant Pharmacy, a Berkeley, Calif.-based pharmacy that complemented western medicine with alternative remedies, patient education and health consultations.

“Kathi’s experience as a CEO and the breadth of her retail experience will be ideal for leading Bartells,” said Bartells chairman George Bartell. “She brings a record of transforming businesses through innovation and entrepreneurial agility.  This will be instrumental in growing the Bartells brand as the local chain expands its reach in the Puget Sound region.”