Boots’ managing director Sebastian James will join ophthalmology clinic group Veonet as its group chief executive in November, the optical business announced today (July 1).

James said he was “thrilled” to join Veonet and that leading the company was a “compelling opportunity”, noting its “talent, strong platform and growing international network”.

Veonet highlighted James’s “strong track record” as a business leader and his “considerable expertise in healthcare”.

Read more: Revealed: Boots planning up to 69 more store closures across UK

He replaces retiring group chief executive Dr Markus Hamm, it added. 

In a statement published on its website this morning, Boots said that James had “given notice to leave the company to pursue a new role in the healthcare sector” and that it had “commenced the process” to recruit his replacement.

James will continue with the company until November, it added.

 

“Pleasure to lead” Boots

 

The UK pharmacy multiple “delivered thirteen consecutive quarters of retail market share growth” under James’s leadership, according to the Boots statement.

James said in the Boots press release that it had been “a pleasure to lead this fantastic company and support its transformation”.

“I am proud to have been part of a business that continues to hold a critical role at the centre of the UK health and beauty sectors [and] I look forward to seeing the business continue to succeed under its excellent leadership team,” he added.

Read more: Dixons Carphone's CEO appointed as next Boots managing director

Boots parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) international chief operating officer Ornella Barra thanked James for “his role in the success of the business over the past years”.

Veonet, which runs a “pan-European network” of 275 ophthalmological clinics in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain, treats “more than 2.7 million patients per year”, the company said.

Read more: Seb James: Boots UK well-positioned to become independent company

Headquartered in Munich, Veonet was bought by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and PAI Partners in 2022 and boasts revenue of “more than €800m in 2023”, it added. 

Its chairman Rob Roger said that James was “an ideal candidate to take the company to the next stage of its growth”.

 

Boots cuts and closures

 

James joined Boots as its managing director from a post as group chief executive of electrical and telecommunications company Dixons Carphone in 2018. 

At the time, James said that he was “very excited…to be offered the privilege of leading Boots, surely one of the UK’s most iconic, venerable and trusted brands”.

In January 2022, C+D exclusively revealed that James had floated the idea that Boots could become "an independent company again” in internal emails to staff.

Read more: Boots on the table - what happens next?

But last week, its parent company WBA appeared to downplay the chance that Boots could be sold in the short-term.

WBA chief executive Tim Wentworth said that the US pharmacy giant was “committed to continuing to invest in Boots UK” and looking to “find innovative ways for this business to fulfil its potential”.

Read more: Revealed: 300 Boots branch closures to begin this month

“While we believe there is significant interest in Boots at the right time, its growth, strategic strength and cashflow remain key contributors to the company,” he added.

But also WBA last week revealed that it could still close up to 69 more Boots stores across the UK after so far closing 581 pharmacies as part of its “transformational cost management program” (TCMP).