Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has appointed Francesco Tinto as its global chief information officer (CIO) and senior vice president.

He will oversee the group’s IT operations and strategy across all of the company’s divisions, including Boots in the UK, taking responsibility for new technology and digital innovation.

This includes data analytics, business intelligence, development, support, infrastructure, security and technical services.

Tinto will report to co-chief operating officers Ornella Barra and Alex Gourlay.

He has spent the last 17 years in various executive positions at Kraft Heinz, most recently as global CIO and head of global business services, overseeing IT and shared services, spanning finance, customer service, data and analytics.

Earlier in his career, Tinto spent over a decade at Procter & Gamble, managing retail, marketing, sales, supply chain and information systems.

“I am very glad to be joining Walgreens Boots Alliance at a time when technology and innovation are more important than ever to the company’s success,” said Tinto. “I am looking forward to working with my highly-talented team around the world to ensure WBA is at the forefront in this critical area of the business.”

Tinto will be tasked with overseeing the maintenance of systems of record for the company, as well as the management of in-house applications and third-party vendor products, including the implementation of Microsoft's Azure and Alphabet’s Verily.

In January, WBA and Microsoft signed a seven-year deal to develop technology solutions and support new digital innovations in healthcare, as the pharmacy group looks to modernise its IT infrastructure.

Previous global CIO and senior vice president Anthony Roberts will retire from WBA to focus on other non-executive roles outside of the company, although he will continue in an advisory capacity.

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