One of the world’s biggest drug makers has turned to the world’s biggest retailer to hire a new chief technology officer charged with launching new digital initiatives.

London-based drug maker GlaxoSmithKline Plc has hired Karenann Terrell as the company’s new chief digital and technology officer. Formerly she served as chief information officer at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. from December 2010 to March 2017.

Since March, she has been working as a partner at KAT Advisory LLC, a Dallas consulting firm.

GlaxoSmithKline hired Terrell to be its chief technology officer at a time when the company is looking to become more consumer-focused, using web-based tools to improve customer service, streamline supply chain operations and improve outcomes and efficiencies of clinical trials, says CEO Emma Walmsley.

Terrell will be responsible for developing GlaxoSmithKline’s digital, data and analytics strategy. “She will work with a wide range of partners from inside and outside the healthcare sector to bring new technologies to GSK, enhancing areas such as clinical trials and drug development; improving how we interact with healthcare providers, customers and consumers and making internal processes more efficient,” the company says.

Terrell has lots of experience running the technology operations at big companies in manufacturing, retail and healthcare. Prior to Wal-Mart Stores, Terrell served as chief information officer for medical equipment and supplies maker Baxter Inc. in Chicago and vehicle maker Daimler Chrysler and also director of e-business for Chrysler.

“The impact of technology on the healthcare industry is accelerating and requires us to rethink our approach,” Walmsley says. “As a member of the executive team, Karenann will have the scope to think radically about how we can exploit the latest opportunities and ultimately improve our business performance.”

GlaxoSmithKline is the maker of such pharmaceutical products as Advair, Avodart, Flovent, Augmentin, Lovaza and Lamictal. The company’s consumer products include Sensodyne and Aquafresh toothpaste, the malted-milk drink Horlicks, Abreva for cold sores, Breathe Right nasal strips, Nicoderm and Nicorette nicotine replacements, and Night Nurse, a cold remedy.

Last week at the company’s annual investor presentation, Walmsley outlines a strategy to streamline operations by cutting administrative and related costs by as much as $1.31 billion by 2020 by focusing on “new business priorities, improved supply chain efficiency and reduced administrative costs,” she said.