'Exciting new chapter' awaits as Markey departs Boots

Pete Markey, one of the most high profile marketers in the UK and arguably across Europe, has stepped down from his CMO role at Boots UK, insisting he is “excited” about the next chapter in his career.

Markey, who has not revealed where he is off to, joined Boots in November 2020 from TSB, where he had faced a torrid time due to the bank’s disastrous IT upgrade which sparked accusations that its acronym actually stood for the “Truly Shambolic Bank”.

Even so, he ploughed on and was responsible for brand, data, analytics, communications, digital, content and sponsorship.

Prior to that, Markey held senior leadership roles at Aviva, the Post Office, RSA and More Th>n, having started his early career at One.Tel, the AA and British Gas; he has always been a big advocate of data-driven marketing techniques.

Markey is currently ISBA president, a role he took on last summer, having served as vice-president for five years. He has been a member of the industry body for the majority of his career.

During his time at Boots, Markey has led a widespread, data-driven overhaul which has seen the Advantage Card loyalty scheme sit at the heart of the business.

But for a man who is never far from the trade press, Markey has been surprisingly coy about the reasons for his decision yet wrote on LinkedIn: “Boots is an incredible business and it’s been an honour to work on such an amazing brand and with such a talented group of people over the past 4.5 years.

“I’m excited about the next chapter in my career and wish everyone in the Boots UK and Irish business continued success.”

A Boots spokesperson commented: “Pete Markey has made a significant contribution during his time with us, leading our marketing transformation and delivering many creative campaigns alongside our talented marketing team. We would like to thank him for his support and wish him well for the future.”