Walgreens Names New General Counsel with Retirement of Dana Green

DEERFIELD, Ill., August 22, 2011 - Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) (NASDAQ: WAG) today named Thomas J. Sabatino, Jr., executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective Sept. 12. Sabatino replaces Dana Green, executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, who is retiring after 37 years with the company.

“The clear legal counsel and advice, as well as strong ethical foundation and support for team members that Dana provided to the company throughout her career contributed greatly to Walgreens growth and success during each year she was with the company,” said Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson. “Each member of the management team at Walgreens can thank her for the guidance and support she provided to them at some point in their career. All of us in the Walgreens family wish Dana and her family the best in her retirement.”

Green, 61, joined the company in 1974 as an attorney in employee relations. She became director of that department before being promoted to divisional vice president of employee relations in 1998. She was named corporate vice president of human resources in 2000 and promoted to senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary in 2004. In 2010, she was named an executive vice president.

Sabatino, 52, joins Walgreens having held general counsel roles with United Airlines, Inc., Schering-Plough Corporation, Baxter International Inc., and American Medical International, Inc. “With each of these companies, Thomas acted as a close advisor to the CEO on central issues each organization faced,” said Wasson. “His extensive background in health care and extraordinary legal experience make him a perfect fit for the organization as we move forward with our core strategies.”

After beginning his career with a law firm and then moving into corporate law, Sabatino was named president and CEO in 1990 of privately-held medical products manufacturer and distributor Secure Medical, Inc., of Mundelein, Ill. In 1992, he joined American Medical International, a Dallas-based for-profit hospital chain with 40 acute-care hospitals. Three years later he joined Baxter International and was named senior vice president and general counsel for the company in 1997.

Sabatino moved to Schering-Plough in 2004 as executive vice president and general counsel for global law and public affairs. He left Schering-Plough in November 2009 after its merger with Merck & Co., Inc.

In March 2010, he was appointed general counsel of United Airlines and immediately took a leading role in its merger negotiations with Continental Airlines, Inc. Sabatino left United Continental Holdings, Inc. earlier this year after completion of the merger.

Sabatino earned a bachelor of arts degree from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., in 1980 and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1983. He is a member of the bar in Massachusetts, Illinois, California and New Jersey. He serves on the board of directors and the executive committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel; is a member of the leadership board of the U.S. Chamber Global Intellectual Property Council; and is on the general counsel committee of the American Bar Association.

His current charitable affiliations include the board of directors of both Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, N.J., and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

About Walgreens

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2010 sales of $67 billion. The company operates 7,742 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility and mail service, along with respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Take Care Health Systems is a Walgreens subsidiary that is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health and wellness centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.

Walgreens
Michael Polzin, (847) 315-2920
http://news.walgreens.com