Richard Baker (British businessman, born 1962)

Richard Baker (born 6 August 1962) is a British businessman who is the former chief operating officer of Asda Stores Ltd.[1] and CEO of Boots Group. He is currently chairman of the European Division of Groupe Aeroplan, which owns and runs the Nectar Loyalty Programme in the UK. He also serves as non-executive chairman of Virgin Active, non-executive director of Whitbread plc, operating partner at Advent International and chairman of DFS.

Richard Baker
Born	6 August 1962
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Downing College, Cambridge
Occupation	Businessman

Career

After graduating from Downing College, Cambridge, Baker worked at Mars Confectionery for nearly 10 years, working his way up to sales and marketing director.[2][3] He joined Asda Stores Ltd in 1995,[4] where he worked for the following 9 years becoming Marketing Director in 1999,[5] and ultimately chief operating officer in 2002, following their acquisition by Walmart.[6]

In September 2003, Baker joined Boots Group as chief executive officer.[7] The company had been reporting losses following its ill-advised move into its 'Wellbeing' services, which included Dentistry, Massage and Botox.[8][9] Despite implementing a number of cost-cutting measures and extending opening hours, the company continued to struggle until October 2005 it announced it was to merge with competitor Alliance Unichem.[10] The announcement met with widespread opposition, but the merger was cleared by the OFT in February 2006 and completed in July that year.[11][12] Baker became chief executive officer of the new Alliance Boots GmbH.[13]

In April 2007, after publishing annual results that showed a profit increase of 7.4%, Alliance Boots was sold to private equity firm KKR for £11.1 billion; the highest price ever paid by a private equity company for a British public company.[14][15] Baker left the company on completion of the transaction.[16] Baker has served as chairman of DFS since April 2010, following Advent International's £500 million takeover of the furniture retail chain.[17]

In June 2019, Baker launched his own private equity firm to invest in mid-market, consumer-facing businesses. The firm will target investments in the retail, leisure, services and health sectors in Britain and Europe.[18]

Current roles

Baker now holds various board and advisory roles with top international companies including:

• Chairman of the European Division of Groupe Aeroplan, which owns and runs the Nectar Loyalty Programme in the UK. It also has interests in other loyalty schemes across Europe.[19][20]
• Non Executive Chairman of Virgin Active.[21]
• non executive director of Whitbread plc.[22][23]
• Operating Partner at Advent International.[24]
• Chairman of DFS.[17]

References

1. Richard Baker worked as director at ASDA Group Limited from 1 November 1999 to 15 September 2003 – source: http://www.cbetta.com/director/richard-baker-31
2. Ryle, Sarah (4 May 2003), "How the Martians took over UK retail", The Observer, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
3. "Baker makes tough decisions as he seeks catalyst for high street chemist's renewal", Sunday Herald, 4 September 2005, retrieved 27 January 2010
4. Cope, Nigel (1 May 2003), "Boots shops at Asda for new chief executive", The Independent, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
5. "How the Wal-Mart deal will boost Asda", Marketing Week, 17 June 1999, retrieved 27 January 2010
6. "DeNunzio takes reins at Asda", Mass Market Retailers, 21 October 2002, retrieved 27 January 2010
7. Cope, Nigel (2 May 2003), "Chemist's chain greets new chief with a £1.6m hello", The Independent, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
8. "Wellbeing proves a little too painful for Boots", Evening Standard, 27 March 2003, retrieved 27 January 2010
9. "Boots to cut 700 jobs from Wellbeing stores", The Telegraph, London, 27 March 2003, retrieved 27 January 2010
10. Rankine, Kate (3 October 2005), "Shareholders blast Boots over merger", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
11. Townsend, Abigail (2 July 2006), "Boots to get green light on £7bn Alliance deal", The Independent, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
12. Muspratt, Caroline (31 July 2006), "UK's largest pharmacy created as Boots completes merger", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
13. Fletcher, Richard (5 May 2007), "Profile: Richard Baker, chief executive of Alliance Boots", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
14. Werdigier, Julia (25 April 2007), "Equity Firm Wins Bidding for a Retailer, Alliance Boots", New York Times, retrieved 27 January 2010
15. Jordan, Dearbail (2 May 2007), "Battle lines drawn for top job at Alliance Boots", The Times, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
16. "Alliance Boots chief quits post", BBC News, 11 July 2007, retrieved 27 January 2010
17. Leroux, Marcus (23 April 2010), "'Categorically not for sale' DFS goes for £500m", The Times, retrieved 13 September 2010
18. Walsh, Dominic (13 June 2019). "Richard Baker puts his dough in private equity". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
19. "Nectar card owner names ex Boots head Richard Baker to board", Marketing Magazine, 27 February 2009, retrieved 27 January 2010
20. "Richard Baker to chair Nectar company advisory board", Marketing Week, 26 February 2009, retrieved 27 January 2010
21. Conway, Edmund (28 April 2008), "Virgin Active could get new boss", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
22. Sibun, Jonathan; Russell, Jonathan (5 September 2009), "Richard Baker accepts Whitbread's offer to return to City", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
23. Lindsay, Robert (7 September 2009), "Whitbread hires ex-Boots boss as sales slide", The Times, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
24. "Former Boots boss Richard Baker joins private equity firm Advent", Retail Week, 20 August 2009, retrieved 27 January 2010