LONDON — British pharmacy and beauty retailer Boots has appointed Alex Baldock as its next chief executive officer, effective this fall, as the company gears for a possible initial public offering.
Baldock, who has been CEO of the British electronics retailer Currys since 2018, will succeed Anthony Hemmerdinger, whose title is senior vice president and managing director of Boots U.K., Ireland, Opticians, and the No7 Beauty Company.
Hemmerdinger, who replaced Boots’ former CEO Ornella Barra earlier this year, will remain in his role until Baldock joins the business, the company said.
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The Boots board of directors thanked Hemmerdinger for this commitment and dedication to the company. It said that under his leadership, Boots achieved 20 consecutive quarters of like-for-like retail share growth as a stand-alone, private company following its acquisition by U.S. private equity firm Sycamore Partners from Walgreens Boots Alliance in 2025.
The board called Baldock “an experienced, transformational leader with a track record of success,” and anticipated that he would lead the next phase of transformation, growth and investment.
“Boots is an iconic, trusted brand with a strong heritage, and plays such an important role in millions of customers’ lives,” Baldock said. “This is an exciting new chapter for Boots, which is uniquely well-positioned to meet customers’ growing needs in beauty, health and wellness. I’m looking forward to working with the leadership team and our colleagues to make the most of the exceptional opportunity.”
Prior to leading a turnaround effort at Currys, Baldock was the CEO of Shop Direct, now The Very Group. Earlier in his career, Baldock served as managing director of Lombard and was a commercial director at Barclays.
His appointment came amid reports that Sycamore Partners is preparing for a potential London IPO for Boots, which could come as early as next year. According to media reports, the IPO would value the business between 5 billion pounds and 7 billion pounds.
Barra stepped down from her role as Boots CEO earlier thsi year and replaced Stefano Pessina as chair of the board of directors of the Boots group. She continues to oversee the company’s ESG agenda as chair of the Boots group ESG committee.