Boots owner looking for new boss as chef eyes top job at clinic
Continue: Sebastian James
The US owner of Boots is looking for a new CEO after its boss resigned to run one of Europe’s largest eye clinics.
Sebastian James – an Old Etonian and contemporary of Boris Johnson and David Cameron at Oxford University’s Bullingdon Club – will leave the high street faithful in November after six years at the top.
James will become Group Chief Executive of Veonet, which treats more than two million patients annually across Europe.
The move, first reported by Sky News, comes just weeks after Walgreens Boots Alliance, owner of the British retailer, decided not to sell or float the chain.
Walgreens also scrapped sales plans in 2022 due to an “unexpected and dramatic change” in market conditions.
The New York-listed company, which has owned Boots since 2014, has seen its value fall over the past year due to skyrocketing debt.