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Wigneswaran is Walmart’s new chief medical officer

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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — John Wigneswaran has joined Walmart as the retailer’s new chief medical officer, a role that had been vacant since the departure last spring of Tom Van Gilder, the first executive to hold the position.

Wigneswaran previously served as chief medical officer of pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts and before that was vice president of medical affairs at dialysis center operator DaVita Inc. Wigneswaran earlier held positions at Fresenius Medical Care and Johnson & Johnson.Walmart Health

The move comes as Walmart is moving deeper into health care and health policy, seeking opportunity in a sector that accounts for roughly 20% of the U.S. economy.

The company this month reinstated a policy of asking shoppers to don face-coverings before entering their stores, a position Walmart first took last summer but which was abandoned last spring as vaccines became widely available.

Walmart recently said it is requiring all of its regional staffers and those at its corporate headquarters to be inoculated by Oct. 4.

Beyond the current public health crisis, Walmart is committing resources to health-related initiatives that company executives believe can help restrain spiraling health care costs and bring health services to under-served populations.

Dr. Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president, Health and Wellness at Walmart, welcomed Dr. Wigneswaran to the company on her LinkedIn page last week. “I am excited to welcome Dr. John Wigneswaran to Walmart as our chief medical officer, leading all our clinical initiatives – quality, training, program development and medical affairs areas. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Walmart, including over a decade of experience as a healthcare business leader in many domains and as a practicing nephrologist. We are looking forward to having him on board to advance our health and wellness strategy and to help our customers and associates live better and healthier,” she wrote.


ECRM_06-01-22


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