Pets at Home Group Plc (‘Company’), the UK’s leading pet care business, is pleased to announce the appointment of James Bailey as chief executive officer with effect from 30 March 2026.
Bailey was most recently managing drector of Waitrose, a position he held for over five years from April 2020. During his tenure, he led Waitrose to strong sales and profit growth, steering the business through the challenging Covid period and its immediate aftermath of high inflation. He also relaunched Waitrose.com after the company moved off the Ocado platform. Prior to his appointment at Waitrose, James held a number of senior roles over twenty years at J Sainsbury plc, including grocery buying director.
On 18 September 2025, Ian Burke was appointed executive chair pending the arrival of a permanent chief executive officer. Burke will revert to the role of non-executive chair upon James’ arrival and will then focus his efforts on supporting James through the transition period.
Ian Burke, chair of Pets at Home, commented: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to announce the appointment of James Bailey as CEO of Pets at Home Group Plc.
Following an extensive search process, the Board believes James’ experience aligns well with the Group’s ambitions for the coming years. His strong retail leadership skills will support the ongoing focus on improving Pets at Home’s retail business, with significant operational and commercial experience leading both stores and online operations. My Board colleagues and I very much look forward to working with him.”
Bailey commented: “I’m delighted to be joining Pets at Home, it’s a business I’ve admired for a long time and one I believe has a very bright future. I look forward to working with the Board and to meeting and working with all of the Pets colleagues and partners.”
