Sebastian James

The Honourable
Sebastian James
James in 2018
Born
Sebastian Richard Edward Cuthbert James

(1966-03-11) 11 March 1966 (age 58)
Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, England
Other namesSeb James
EducationEton College
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford
INSEAD
OccupationBusinessman
TitleCEO, Boots UK
SpouseAnna Gregory
Children4
ParentLord Northbourne

Sebastian Richard Edward Cuthbert James (born 11 March 1966) is a British businessman, who was formerly CEO of Dixons Carphone,[1] and is the current CEO of Boots UK.

Early life

The son of Christopher James, 5th Baron Northbourne, he was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a member of the Bullingdon Club with former Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, and Boris Johnson.[2] He is a family friend of David Cameron and Helena Bonham-Carter.[3] The two were on holiday together in Italy in August 2011 when Cameron had to return to deal with the London riots. James was given a job in government on 5 July 2010, by Education Secretary Michael Gove, reviewing state school spending.[4][5] He earned an MBA from INSEAD in 1991.[6]

Career

James started his career at Bain & Co, including being project leader with focus on retail and investment banking systems and transaction management. He was the chief executive of Synergy Insurance Services Limited, and strategy director responsible for developing and implementing the turnaround strategy at Mothercare.

He joined Dixons Retail in 2008 as development director managing its Currys transformation programme, becoming group CEO in 2012.[7]

James was appointed CEO of Dixons Carphone in August 2014 following the merger of Dixons Retail with Carphone Warehouse.[8] He was recognised as the mobile industry person of the year for his achievements with the merger.[9]

In January 2018, James resigned as CEO of Dixons Carphone, to run Boots UK, "in a surprise move days before it updates the City on its Christmas trading performance", and was succeeded by Alex Baldock, who had been CEO of the online retailer Shop Direct since 2012.[10][11]

James is a non-executive director of Direct Line Insurance Group plc,[12] and a trustee of English Heritage.[13] He was previously Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a trustee for Save the Children. He has also served as a trustee for Modern Art Oxford and Techknowledge for Schools.[14]

Since September 2018, James has been a senior vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and president and managing director of Boots.[11]

In the runup to the 2024 UK general election James endorsed the Labour Party citing the focus on economic growth and he welcomed Labour’s plans to “put more money in people’s pockets” to help address the cost of living crisis, which he said Boots customers still complain about daily. James's support for the Labour Party was notable not only because of his role as a leader in the business community, but more so for his connection to high-ranking conservative party figures Boris Johnson and David Cameron. Cameron, James, and Johnson all went to Eton together, and later all three men were members of the Bullingdon Club, with all three being in the infamous black and white group picture in 1987 that later made negative news headlines. James's friendship with Cameron went into adulthood with the two going on holiday together to James's Italian villa in 2011, and Cameron put James on a panel to decide how money was spent on new schools in 2012.[15]

Personal life

James married Anna Gregory in August 1998, and they have four children.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Sebastian James: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Cameron's cronies: The Bullingdon Club's class of '87". The Independent. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Business interview: Seb James - the selfie-loving boss with plans to nurse Boots back to health". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  4. ^ Michael Gove, Education Secretary (5 July 2010). "Education Funding". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). UK: House of Commons. col. 49.
  5. ^ "The James Review of Education Capital Spending". Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  6. ^ ‘JAMES, Hon. Sebastian Richard Edward Cuthbert’, Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2013
  7. ^ "Executive Profile". Business Week. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Dixons and Carphone Warehouse announce £3.8bn merger - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  9. ^ "Sebastian James : Power50 2015 profile". Mobiletoday.co.uk. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  10. ^ Slawson, Nicola (20 January 2018). "Dixons Carphone CEO will step down to run chemist chain Boots". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. ^ a b Editorial. "Dixons Carphone CEO James quits for job at Boots". reuters.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. ^ "MOVES-Direct Line Insurance Group appoints Sebastian James to its board". Uk.reuters.com. 28 August 2014. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  13. ^ "English Heritage, Our Trustees". www.english-heritage.org.uk. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Officer Profile". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  15. ^ Mitchell, Archie (16 May 2024). "David Cameron's Bullingdon Club pal endorses Sir Keir Starmer's Labour". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
Business positions
Preceded by Managing Director of Boots UK
September 2018 - 		Succeeded by
Incumbent