CVS Health Chief Executive Officer Karen Lynch has stepped down and will be replaced by David Joyner, who runs the company's pharmacy benefit firm, Caremark.

The struggling pharmacy chain said Friday that the change in leadership is effective immediately. Lynch had been CEO since early 2021. One of the nation’s largest healthcare companies is experiencing a seismic shakeup.

CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch has stepped down and is being replaced by David Joyner amid struggles with rising costs.

Longtime executive David Joyner, 60, took over on Thursday after CVS repeatedly missed earnings targets, setting off unrest among shareholders that spilled into public view in recent weeks

CVS has replaced CEO Karen Lynch with longtime pharmacy benefits executive David Joyner. The company has been struggling to drive higher profits and better stock performance. Last month, major CVS shareholder Glenview Capital began a significant push for changes at the company.

CVS Health said Friday that as of Thursday David Joyner became its new CEO, replacing Karen Lynch. In an agreement with the CVS board, Lynch stepped down.

CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch has stepped down and is being replaced by David Joyner as the health care giant continues to struggle with rising costs.

(Reuters) -CVS Health is naming its longtime executive David Joyner as new CEO, as Karen Lynch steps down from the helm of the struggling healthcare giant, the company said on Friday. Joyner, who is the president of the company's pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark, takes over as president and CEO from Friday, the company said.

Roger Farah, who worked behind the scenes to right Ralph Lauren and Tory Burch, will become Executive Chairman at CVS.

Headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I., CVS owns the country’s largest pharmacy chain with more than 9,000 stores. By late 2022, Lynch helped lift CVS’s share price from $70 to roughly $110, and investors were onboard with her new strategy: Making CVS a one-stop shop for basic care,