New Boots managing director revealed

Pharmacist Boots, which has a huge manufacturing plant in Beeston, Nottingham, is set to get a new managing director.

The news comes after it emerged late on Friday that Dixon Carphone said that Shop Direct’s chief executive Sebastian James had resigned to take over at Boots.

Jones will joins Boots parent company Walgreen Boots Alliance later this year as its senior vice president and president and managing director of high street pharmacist Boots.

He will report to Alex Gourlay, co-chief operating officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Elizabeth Fagan, who has led Boots since June 2016, will continue working with the Company and will take on the newly created role of non-executive chairman of Boots in the new fiscal year.

Gourlay said: “We are delighted that Sebastian will join our company at an equally exciting and challenging time for the retail environment in the UK and for the future development of Boots, a brand synonymous with pharmacy and care. We are sure his deep retail expertise will drive significant progress and innovation at Boots for the benefit all our stakeholders. I also want to warmly thank Elizabeth who has been leading the business very successfully for the last 18 months or so, and in her over 11 years with the Company has made an invaluable contribution. She will continue to do so in her next role.”

James said: “I am very excited to be joining Walgreens Boots Alliance at this time in its history, and to have been offered the privilege of leading Boots, surely one of the UK’s most iconic, venerable and trusted brands. At a time of unprecedented change in both the retail and healthcare markets, to build on the fantastic work that the team have done over the last few years, and to be a part of the next chapter for this great company is an extraordinary opportunity. I look forward to getting to know my new colleagues at both Boots and WBA in the next few months.”