Steven Shulman, a healthcare executive with ties to VillageMD and CareCentrix, has resigned from Walgreens' board after a spat with other members over whether he was an independent voice, according to a securities filing.
Mr. Shulman wrote in his resignation letter that he has been asked to leave board meetings, for about 35 percent to half of their total time over the past year, putting him in a position where he "could not legally or ethically perform" his board duties. He added that he is not an employee of either VillageMD or CareCentrix.
But Walgreens contended in the Dec. 7 filing that Mr. Shulman didn't meet independence guidelines set by the company and Nasdaq. He is a director of VillageMD and executive chair and director of CareCentrix.
Walgreens purchased a majority, $5.2 billion stake in VillageMD, a primary care company, in November 2021, and bought a majority share of CareCentrix, a home healthcare firm, in August for $330 million (later agreeing to buy the rest of the company for another $392 million).
Mr. Shulman made about $117 million off the first transaction, $15.4 million off the second, and is expected to earn another $18.3 million from the third, the filing states.