Walmart's executive vice president of health and wellness is departing the retailer after about two years for a managing director role with JPMorgan's healthcare arm, Bloomberg reported Nov. 20.
Cheryl Pegus, MD, joined Walmart in November 2020 as executive vice president of health and wellness to develop the company's healthcare vision and lead health and wellness efforts across the enterprise, reporting to Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner.
Dr. Pegus will remain a senior advisor to Walmart, although no successor has been named for her role, Bloomberg reports.
As a managing director at Morgan Health, JPMorgan's healthcare arm, Dr. Pegus will work with the company's venture group investing $250 million in innovative health companies. Morgan Health CEO Dan Mendelson told Bloomberg Dr. Pegus will bring clinical expertise to areas like mental health, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
JPMorgan Chase launched Morgan Health in spring 2021 to improve the quality, affordability and equity of employer-sponsored healthcare. It made headlines this fall with the opening of three advanced primary care centers in Ohio and the formation of a healthcare venture capital team targeting early- to later-stage healthcare companies with innovations in areas like genetic medicine, autoimmune diseases, cardiometabolic diseases and rare disorders.
A health executive from Walmart, which employs 2.3 million associates globally, holds special meaning for Morgan Health given its aspirations to develop solutions that reach U.S. employers.
"Everything that we are doing at Morgan Health is intended to be reproducible and scalable across employers," Mr. Mendelson told Bloomberg.