For Black History Month, Tracey Brown, Walgreens’ chief customer officer, speaks with a Chicago beauty consultant about how hard work can lead to success, but courage is required.
Walgreens Stories
Tracey Brown is humbled to hear that her career path has been an inspiring one. An MBA graduate from Columbia University Business School, the first CEO of the American Diabetes Association to live with the disease and Walgreens’ first president of retail and chief customer officer, she is one of several leaders at Walgreens Boots Alliance to join the company following the appointment of Roz Brewer, Walgreens Boots Alliance’s first Black female CEO.
But she hasn’t always been the “first.” And her acknowledgement comes with gratitude.
“I grew up under the notion that you should always look back and pull someone along,” says Brown. Shawanna Turner, a Walgreens beauty consultant selected to speak with Brown for the Ladders: Lifting As We Climb series, agrees, noting that she hasn’t always had someone like Brown to look up to in her career. This comes at a time when it will take until 2074 for the number of board seats held by people of color at Fortune 500 companies will reach 40%. Progress has certainly been made—companies with over 40% diversity on their boards is almost four times higher than it was in 2010—but it has been slow, and will continue to take time.
Whether it’s a board seat or the next rung on a ladder, representation matters to inspire the next generation. It’s highlighted in the second installment of Ladders, a Black History Month series that gives WBA team members the opportunity to meet with leaders to discuss representation in the workplace and how they can all redefine what Black history means in the future.
Watch the conversation about how being the “first” may soon be a thing of the past for those who live courageously and lift others up along the way.
