Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has appointed Anthony Hemmerdinger as managing director of Boots UK and Ireland.

Hemmerdinger currently works as retail and operations director at Boots, a position which he has held since September 2022. In the role he has overseen the health and beauty chain’s transformation, brand expansion programme and the beauty refit. He currently oversees around 1,900 stores and distribution centres.

Prior to joining Boots, Hemmerdinger was chief operating officer at Asda, where he spent six years leading company operations across its UK retail portfolio. He previously held senior operational and strategy roles at Greene King, Sainsbury's and Carphone Warehouse.

Hemmerdinger also spent 17 years in a variety of positions at Marks & Spencer.
He will take over the role from Seb James on 4 November.

James announced in July that he would be stepping down after six years to pursue a new role in the healthcare sector.

Boots said Hemmerdinger’s appointment followed a thorough search process which considered both external and internal candidates.

“Anthony is a great leader with extensive retail experience. His deep understanding of our business, passion for brilliant customer service and strong relationships will ensure a seamless leadership transition and enable us to build on our transformation journey apace,” said Ornella Barra, EVP, chief operating officer, international at Walgreens Boots Alliance. “Since he joined the Boots team in 2022, Anthony has successfully guided our retail and operations team through our change journey, which has delivered consistent growth across all our categories.”

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