Ex-Boots CEO joins Advent

Private equity giant Advent International has appointed former Boots CEO Richard Baker as an operating partner.

As part of his new role, Baker will be responsible for advising the firm on investment opportunities across the retail and consumer sectors.

Prior to Advent, Baker was group chief executive at Alliance Boots, having been chief executive officer of Boots Plc for three years before the merger with Alliance Unichem in 2006. Before Boots, he was chief operating officer of Asda as well as non-executive chairman of the health club chain, Virgin Active.

Managing director and head of Advent’s retail, consumer and leisure sector team, Tim Franks said: “Richard has been working as an advisor to Advent since the beginning of 2009 and we are very pleased that he is now joining us as an operating partner. We are excited by the potential the current market conditions present and Richard’s networks should help to strengthen our position.”

Baker is one of many high profile executives that have been recruited to Advent’s operating partner programme in the past year. Former chairman of Merrill Lynch Bob Wigley was recently hired as an operating partner advising on opportunities in financial services in Europe, as was Paolo Cantarella, who joined the firm to focus on investment opportunities in the industrial sector.Ex-Boots CEO joins Advent