Holland & Barrett are delighted to announce the appointment of Alex Gourlay as Executive Chair.
Alex assumes the role from Michael Casey, Executive Chair since September 2021 and a non-executive Board member since 2017. Michael has overseen a vital transformation of the business and leaves H&B well-placed to be the trusted partner to help millions of people around the world achieve their personal health and wellness goals. Michael will remain as a non-executive Board member and will return to LetterOne to create and lead a new business unit for making impact investments.
Alex – who announced his intention to join the LetterOne board in December 2022 – joins with an outstanding pedigree in retail and health. A qualified pharmacist, until May 2021 Alex was the Executive Vice President and Co-Chief Operating Officer for Walgreens Boots Alliance, a global integrated Healthcare, Pharmacy and Retail leader approximately 13,000 stores and 300,000 colleagues across USA, Europe and Latin America.
Following the recent successful refinancing by LetterOne, its most successful Christmas trading for the past six years in 2022, and the work Michael and the talented Board and Executive team have developed on vision, purpose and strategy, Holland & Barrett is exceptionally well-positioned for future growth. Alex’s priority will be to deliver the current plan to help H&B realise its potential to grow and support customers to make health and wellness a way of life for everyone at a time when health is so vitally important.
LetterOne remains fully committed to the development and growth of the business and its long-term vision.
Michael Casey said: “I’ve been privileged to be involved in H&B for over 5 years. I’m proud to have been a small part of its 150-year history helping people lead happier, healthier lives. I am very grateful to my team and all of H&B’s colleagues who have worked tirelessly to support millions of customers through the pandemic while also undergoing a technology-led transformation to support each customer’s personal wellness journeys. H&B is a business with strong growth momentum, having just achieved its best Christmas trading period ever. I have every confidence the team will go from strength to strength under Alex’s proven leadership.
On joining the business, Alex says: “I have always had huge respect for H&B. It is a much-loved UK institution playing a vital role for health and wellness on an international scale. The opportunity to help it through its next stage of transformation is genuinely exciting. Michael and the team have done a fantastic job positioning the business for a bright future. I thank them for that and am fully committed to taking their work forward successfully.”
