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Richard Baker (British businessman, born 1962)

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Richard Baker
Born (1962-08-06) 6 August 1962 (age 62)
NationalityBritish
Alma materDowning College, Cambridge
OccupationBusinessman

Richard Baker (born 6 August 1962) was CEO of Boots Group from 2003 to 2007. He has since served on a number of executive boards and launched private equity firm BD-Capital.[1]

Early life and education

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Baker graduated from Downing College, Cambridge.[citation needed]

Career

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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 nine 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.[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]

From 2008 to 2014, Baker served as non-executive chairman of Virgin Active.[17] From 2009 to 2017, he served as chairman of the European Division of Groupe Aeroplan.[18][19] From 2010 to 2018, he served as chairman of DFS.[20] From 2014 to 2018, he served as non-executive director of Whitbread.[21][22]

In June 2019, Baker launched his own private equity firm, BD-Capital.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Walsh, Dominic (13 June 2019). "Richard Baker puts his dough in private equity". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  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, archived from the original on 6 September 2010, retrieved 27 January 2010
  5. ^ "How the Wal-Mart deal will boost Asda", Marketing Week, 17 June 1999, retrieved 12 February 2021
  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[dead link]
  8. ^ "Wellbeing proves a little too painful for Boots", Evening Standard, 27 March 2003, retrieved 27 January 2010[dead link]
  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[dead link]
  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, archived from the original on 11 June 2011, retrieved 27 January 2010
  16. ^ "Alliance Boots chief quits post", BBC News, 11 July 2007, retrieved 27 January 2010
  17. ^ Conway, Edmund (28 April 2008), "Virgin Active could get new boss", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
  18. ^ "Nectar card owner names ex Boots head Richard Baker to board", Marketing Magazine, 27 February 2009, retrieved 27 January 2010
  19. ^ "Richard Baker to chair Nectar company advisory board", Marketing Week, 26 February 2009, retrieved 12 February 2021
  20. ^ Leroux, Marcus (23 April 2010), "'Categorically not for sale' DFS goes for £500m", The Times, archived from the original on 11 June 2011, retrieved 13 September 2010
  21. ^ Sibun, Jonathan; Russell, Jonathan (5 September 2009), "Richard Baker accepts Whitbread's offer to return to City", The Telegraph, London, retrieved 27 January 2010
  22. ^ Lindsay, Robert (7 September 2009), "Whitbread hires ex-Boots boss as sales slide", The Times, London, retrieved 12 February 2021
Business positions
Preceded by Chief Executive of Boots UK
2003–2007 		Succeeded by
Stefano Pessina (Executive Chairman)
Preceded by Chairman of Whitbread
2014–2018 		Succeeded by
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