Pets at Home appoint David Robinson as chief operating officer of retail and Jane Balmain as interim chief executive of its vet groups First Opinion business.
Robinson has spent the last two years as managing director of Bestway Retail. Before that, he was at Home Retail Group for 15 years, with his last appointment being chief operating officer for Argos.
When Robinson joins Pets at Home in 2019, he will report directly to Peter Pritchard, who is the company’s chief executive.
Pritchard said: "Following Robert Kent's appointment as chief data officer only a few weeks ago, we are making another strategically important and senior level appointment, who will be critical to achieving our goal of becoming the world's best pet care business. David has proven strength in running operations across a diverse group of retailers and his experience leading the digital transformation at Argos will be hugely valuable in our pursuit to make Pets at Home an increasingly digitally-led business.”
Jane Balmain has re-joined the company’s vet business after establishing the joint venture Companion Care in-store vet model in 2001. She retired in 2014. She will also report to Pritchard.
Balmain will remain in the company for the next twelve months whilst searching for a permanent replacement.
Pritchard said of Balmain “Jane was responsible for establishing the in-store Companion Care joint venture model and growing the business successfully and sustainably through her tenure. Jane is well known by many of our joint venture partners and vet group colleagues, and we look forward to benefiting from her expertise and support over the coming months."
