After nearly six years at Walmart, Musab Balbale is leaving the company for the head merchant role  at CVS health, according to a report by Chain Drug Review. Musab, most recently the VP for Omnichannel Merchandising Beauty at Walmart, informed peers and colleagues of his move in a message on his LinkedIn page.

“I am immensely grateful for all the opportunities these years have provided me. From the infectious energy of Marc Lore at Jet.com to the scale and ambition of Walmart eCommerce; from a single digital eCommerce channel to the complexities of integrated omni-retail – I have been privileged to work alongside passionate, driven and smart retail disrupters, “ he wrote.

“These last two years, supporting Walmart’s Omni beauty business, have been particularly thrilling. I am proud of the speed with which the Walmart beauty team is transforming the business – and in turn shifting the narrative of Walmart Beauty. I have no doubt that they will continue their ambitious trajectory and I will be celebrating their success from a far.”

As head of beauty for the world’s largest retailer, Balbale was best known for bringing smaller brands into the mix. In an interview with Beauty News in 2021, Musab said that while launching powerhouse brands what Walmart had always done well, the opportunity lied in making beauty more accessible and partnering with cult beauty favorites.

“It feels like a powerful mission and one we can measure on a number of dimensions—saving time, being more convenient and making sure our diverse customers, regardless of race, age, size, religion or sexual orientation, feel at home in our aisles.” One of his big accomplishments was bringing Uoma by Sharon C to Walmart shelves.

Musab also helped change the way Walmart talks to brands.

“We pitch them on our strength of sales and the accessibility we offer. We started to share more about our customers. What I would tell brands is we are incredibly open right now. We want to hear from brands in many ways… RangeMe, email, LinkedIn, DMs, Instagram, etc.”