22 to Watch in RI in 2022: Karen Lynch

22 to Watch in RI in 2022: Karen Lynch

Karen Lynch, the President and CEO of CVS, has not been at the helm for even a year, but oh, what a year it has been.

She has overseen the company's response to the pandemic -- this has required the hiring of tens of thousands of new employees, the transformation and upgrading of the company's delivery service, and the creation of a new strategy for their stores. CVS’s new "Health Hub" approach is an effort to reinvigorate the company’s relationship with their customer in their stores.

In May, CVS Health announced the investment of $100 million into CVS Health Ventures, a dedicated corporate venture capital fund that "will invest in and partner with high-potential, early-stage companies focused on making health care more accessible, affordable, and simpler."

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Rhode Island is void of a venture capital fund until now. CVS confirmed the venture fund will be located in Woonsocket.

"Consumers deserve a better health experience, one that puts them at the center of cutting-edge, digitally enabled solutions," said Lynch. "Forming CVS Health Ventures will build on our successful track record of scaling innovation and driving change in health care."

The company, however, is facing some significant challenges.

Lynch and CVS face potentially hundreds of millions or even billions in liability due to the company’s role in the opioid epidemic.

And, the biggest threat may be to the company is the omnipresent Amazon, who during the pandemic became the retailer-of-choice for many of the products that CVS used to provide to consumers.

In response to the Amazon threat, Lynch announced the company would close 900 stores over the next three years.

Lynch's management of the multiple challenges and opportunities is critical to the future of CVS and Rhode Island.