Scranton, Lackawanna County, PA -
Scranton native and former Geisinger executive Jim Peters is now in charge of managing daily business and growth for one of the country's biggest retail pharmacy companies.
Rite Aid announced Thursday it had appointed Peters, 47, of South Abington Twp., to chief operating officer, giving him oversight of the company as it builds on its current footprint of 2,464 stores in 18 states and $21.6 billion in annual revenue.
Effective Monday, he replaces Bryan Everett, who is leaving the company for other opportunities, the company said. Rite Aid agreed to pay Peters a base salary of $750,000.
An architect by training with a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Peters worked for Geisinger for over a decade, building out its venture capital arm, Geisinger Ventures, and also serving as chief executive of Geisinger Medical Management Corp.
Most recently he was chief executive at advisory firm Skyward Health, and serves on the boards of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania and SLIBCO, the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce's economic development arm.
His hiring comes amid sweeping structural and leadership changes as Rite Aid tries to find its financial footing. The company posted a net loss for 2018 of nearly $250 million.
The company - which opened its first store as Thrif-D Discount Center in Scranton in 1962 - finished selling 1,932 of its stores to Walgreens last year for $4.4 billion in an effort to pay down debts. A year earlier, the Federal Trade Commission rejected Walgreens plans to acquire all of Rite Aid, but accepted the sale of a smaller number of stores.
In 2018, shareholder disdain stopped an impending merger with competitor Albertsons.
Peters' history in working with innovators, venture capital and in health care and tech gives him an edge, said longtime Northeast Pennsylvania economic development agent John Augustine, president of Penn's Northeast. Peters worked with Augustine about a decade ago on putting together a network of angel investors.
“He certainly has the experience and expertise to be an asset to Rite Aid in helping to move them forward,” he said. “He knows where the industry is going, but he also has that financial background in order to say: ‘Here's what we need to do to be successful.'”
Peters was not available for an interview on Thursday, but in a written statement said his arrival at Rite Aid comes at an inflection point in the health and wellness industry.
“The Rite Aid brand is strong and its potential even stronger. I look forward to working with industry leaders - both at Rite Aid and in the marketplace - as we define and execute our strategy and achieve our goals, while keeping the health and wellness of our customers top-of-mind,” he said.
