Episode 79

SUMMARY

Anthony Hemmerdinger – The dangers of living on past glories

Anthony Hemmerdinger is one of the UK retail sector’s most experienced operators. As MD of Boots UK, he leads a business that has been at the heart of the high street for more than 175 years.

In Episode 79 of the Nottingham Business School Business Leaders’ Podcast, he reflects on a career spanning more than three decades with brands including Boots, Asda and Marks & Spencer – and on his journey from Saturday shop floor assistant to Managing Director.

Speaking to Visiting Honorary Professor Mike Sassi, he discusses the future of the high street, the importance of human connection in retail, and the challenge of modernising heritage brands without losing their identity.

He also shares his leadership insights, talking about clarity, honesty and the day he turned up at a store just after staff had been told about redundancies.

Reflecting on the pace of transformation in retail, he says: “If we do not change… if we do not evolve… we will not be here!”

INTRODUCTION

• Anthony Hemmerdinger was appointed Managing Director of Boots UK & Ireland, in November 2024.

• He oversees around 2,000 Boots stores and more than 50,000 employees, leading the company’s strategy across health, pharmacy and beauty retail.

• He has more than 30 years’ experience in UK retail, having held senior roles at major high-street brands including M&S, Sainsbury's, and Carphone Warehouse.

• He spent 17 years at M&S, working in a range of roles before moving into wider retail leadership positions.

• From 2016 to 2022 he worked at Asda, becoming Chief Operating Officer and overseeing store operations across the chain during the Covid-19 pandemic.

• In September 2022 he joined Boots as Retail & Operations Director, responsible for store operations, logistics and transformation projects.

• His promotion to MD in 2024, made headline news as Boots accelerated its store refit and healthcare expansion strategy.

• Anthony began his retail career with a Saturday job at Boots as a teenager, in Manchester. He now lives in Sheffield with his family.

SIX LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS from Anthony Hemmerdinger

1. Leaders must maintain direct contact with staff and customers… human interaction is key:

“Making that connection with customers, with patients, with colleagues… is the single most important lesson that I’ve learned. I will be disappointed if I don’t spend at least a day a week out in stores talking to colleagues, talking to customers.”

2. Good leaders will communicate not only decisions but also the reasoning behind them:

“The fundamentals of change… [involve not only] giving clarity to the team about what you want to change, but [also] crucially why.”

3. Leaders need to keep learning – and stepping outside their comfort zones:

“Be curious… listen more than you speak… and as soon as you start feeling a little bit comfortable, go and find something that stretches you again.”

4. Leaders must adapt quickly in times of crisis – as the Pandemic showed:

“We literally were having to reinvent overnight the way in which we ran and operated our stores… the speed of decision making, the boldness of decisions that we had to take.”

5. Organisations must not rely on past success:

“It is dangerous just to live on past glories. You have to be prepared to break some things to move it forward. If we do not change, if we do not evolve… we will not be here!”

6. Effective leadership involves absorbing information from others and understanding different perspectives:

“Listen more than you speak… soak up as much as you can, expose yourself to different environments and challenges.”

RELATED LINKS

Find out more about Anthony Hemmerdinger…

• On the Boots website

• In this Retail Gazette article

• From his LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode of the NBS Business Leaders’ Podcast with Anthony Hemmerdinger you can listen to previous episodes with…

• Former Chief Exec of the Financial Ombudsman Service Caroline Wayman

• Entrepreneur, chef, musician and TV celebrity Levi Roots

• Former head of the RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford KCB CBE

• The CEO of £1bn global tech giant Ideagen Ben Dorks