Celesio, the parent group behind pharmaceutical retailer Lloydspharmacy, appoints new director

Nigel Swift has been promoted to Celesio UK marketing and sales director and will have five directors, including the retail operations director Kirstie Hepburn, reporting to him.

He will also be responsible for public sector and healthcare services director Andrew Willets, sales director for third party and dispensing doctors Dave Rollinson, market development director Chris Frost and marketing director Leon Rudd.

The new position follows last month’s appointment of UK managing director Cormac Tobin who is retailer’s fourth managing director since 2010.

Swift will report to Tobin as a member of the Celesio UK country board alongside UK operations director Steve Anderson and finance director Thorsten Beer.

A Celesio spokesman said the new structure has been developed to “provide an effective blend of skills and responsibilities”.

Prior to his promotion Swift, who has been with Celesio for the past 14 years, was a project manager responsible for rolling out a new store design across Europe through its European Pharmacy Network (EPN) programme. He will continue this work in his new role.

The spokesman added: “Nigel brings a wealth of experience in pharmacy retail gathered across the Celesio Group as well as ten years’ experience gained across a number of other retail chains in the UK and internationally. 

“Nigel will continue to lead the EPN roll out as we pursue our strategy of providing compelling healthcare and retail propositions to our customers.”