DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Walgreens is adding the former leader of rival drugstore chain Rite Aid to its executive team.

The company said that John Standley will join Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. as president, effective immediately.

The move comes a month after Walgreens announced that CEO Stefano Pessina will step down and become executive chairman once the drugstore chain finds a replacement for him.

Company spokesman Jim Cohn said that search is continuing, and Standley was named president “with a focus on advancing our vision for the Walgreens of the future.”

Walgreens also said last month that it plans to add primary care clinics to as many as 700 of its U.S. stores over the next few years in a major expansion of the care it offers customers.

Company executive Alex Gourlay said at the time that Walgreens had been looking for a way to provide more comprehensive care to its customers, and company leaders were confident that this was the right model for the future.

Standley joins Walgreens more than year after Rite Aid named former insurance executive Heyward Donigan to replace him as CEO. Standley had served as CEO of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid Corp. since 2010.

The company struggled with losses toward the end of his tenure. Its board had to approve a reverse stock split in early 2019 to lift plummeting share prices and keep the shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Three years ago, Walgreens ended a takeover bid of Rite Aid after the potential deal drew resistance from U.S. regulators. Walgreens instead agreed to buy a couple thousand stores from its much smaller competitor.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. currently runs more than 18,750 stores globally.

Shares of Walgreens slipped 39 cents to $38.37 after markets opened Monday.