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

Boots UK Boots UK Limited (formerly Boots the Chemists), trading as Boots, is a British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom and other countries and territories including Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Thailand a ...

Early life

The son of

Christopher James, 5th Baron Northbourne Christopher George Walter James, 5th Baron Northbourne, 6th Baronet, DL, FRICS (18 February 1926 – 8 September 2019), was a British farmer and aristocrat. He was one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords aft ...

, he was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a member of the Bullingdon Club with former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

, and

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

. He is a family friend of David Cameron and Helena Bonham-Carter. 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 Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...

, reviewing state school spending. He earned an MBA from

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East ( Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (Sa ...

in 1991.

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 Mothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to eight years of age. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap I ...

. He joined

Dixons Retail Dixons Retail plc was one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the company operated Currys, Currys Digital, PC World (with stores increasingly dual branded 'Currys PC World'), Dixons Travel and its ...

in 2008 as development director managing its

Currys Currys (branded as Currys PC World between 2010 and 2021) is an electrical retailer and aftercare service provider operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, specialising in white goods, consumer electronics, computers and mobile phones. E ...

transformation programme, becoming group CEO in 2012. James was appointed CEO of Dixons Carphone in August 2014 following the merger of Dixons Retail with

Carphone Warehouse The Carphone Warehouse Limited was a mobile phone retailer based in London, United Kingdom. In August 2014 the company became a subsidiary of Currys plc (previously named "Dixons Carphone"), which was formed by the merger of its former parent C ...

. He was recognised as the mobile industry person of the year for his achievements with the merger. In January 2018, James resigned as CEO of Dixons Carphone, to run

, "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. James is a non-executive director of Direct Line Insurance Group plc, and was a trustee of the charities

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

and Techknowledge for Schools. Since September 2018, James has been a senior vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and president and managing director of Boots.

Personal life

James married Anna Gregory in August 1998, and they have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Sebastian 1966 births Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British people of American descent British people of French descent British people of Greek descent British retail chief executives Bullingdon Club members INSEAD alumni Living people People educated at Eton College Walgreens people Younger sons of barons