By: Jordan Meadows | Staff Writer
Rosalind Brewer, a Detroit native, has had a career filled with groundbreaking achievements, becoming one of the most influential business leaders in the world.
Born in 1962, Brewer was the youngest of five children in a working-class family and the first generation in her family to attend college. With an inclination toward math and science, Brewer initially aspired to become a physician. After graduating from Cass Technical High School in Detroit in 1980, Brewer attended Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry.
Upon graduation in 1984, Brewer joined Kimberly-Clark as a research technician, where she would go on to spend 22 years in various leadership roles, including Vice President of the Nonwovens division. Her tenure at Kimberly-Clark provided Brewer with a strong foundation in leadership and business strategy, but it was in 2006 that her career truly began to take off.
Brewer joined Walmart, where she held several roles, culminating in her position as the President of Walmart East. And in 2012, she made history as the first Black person to lead a Walmart division when she became the President and CEO of Sam’s Club. There, Brewer focused on health and wellness, notably increasing the availability of organic products, while also spearheading major operational transformations.
“How do you get that team to move like an orchestra, and that’s what I always say is that I feel like I’m the conductor of the orchestra and I wanted to have its best performance,” Brewer said.
In 2017, she made another historic move when she was appointed COO and Group President of Starbucks. Brewer became the first woman and first Black person to hold this position, overseeing operations in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
During her time at Starbucks, Brewer was instrumental in implementing policies and racial bias training across the company following a controversial incident in one of its stores. She used her position to advocate for social change, like racial bias training for thousands of employees.
“Every person walks in the room with a bias ... with something happening in their lives that day that makes them unique. We have to be sensitive to that, and we have to call it out when we see it,” Brewer said.
Brewer reached another milestone in 2021 when she was appointed CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, becoming the only Black woman leading a Fortune 500 company at that time. Under her leadership, she worked to steer the company through turbulent times post-COVID.
Brewer has also been consistently ranked among the most powerful women in the world, with Fortune placing her 27th on its list in 2020. Brewer’s accomplishments have also earned her numerous accolades, including being named to Forbes’ 50 Over 50 list in 2021 and the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame the same year.
“You have to speak up and speak out. And I try to use my platform for that. I try to set an example,” Brewer described a specific incident when she was meeting with a supplier, and she recollected, “the entire other side of the table was all Caucasian male. That was interesting.”
Whether speaking out against racial bias or leading initiatives to promote greater equity, Brewer has made a profound impact on the companies she’s worked for and the industry at large. She continues to use her platform to inspire future generations of leaders, particularly women and people of color.
