Sebastian James


Sebastian Richard Edward Cuthbert James is an English businessman, who was formerly CEO of Dixons Carphone, and is the current CEO of Boots UK.

Early life and education

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. He is a family friend of David Cameron. 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. He earned an MBA from INSEAD 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 has served as the Chief Executive of Synergy Insurance Services Limited and as 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.
James was appointed CEO of Dixons Carphone on 6 August 2014 following the merger of Dixons Retail with Carphone Warehouse. He was recognised as the mobile industry person of the year for his achievements with the merger.
James is also a non-executive director of Direct Line Insurance Group plc and trustee of the charities Save the Children and Techknowledge for Schools.
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.
Since 1 September 2018, James has been a senior vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance, and president and managing director of Boots.

Family

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