McShane takes helm at Boots

Boots Opticians has appointed Chas McShane as its new managing director.

Director of professional services David Cartwright said McShane, who has been leading the Boots Opticians team since April, brings to the business 'considerable retail and leadership expertise gained from previous operational roles within Boots the Chemists'.

McShane expressed his delight at taking on the role: 'The business has gone through a period of significant change over the last few months in particular with the appointment of more than 200 optometrist or dispensing optician managers to lead our practice teams.

'We have embarked on a programme of initiatives and investment to make us more modern, efficient and competitive. We are now seeing a much more positive trend and I see the business having a great future,' he said.

As a result of the appointment, Deirdre Burns has been permanently assigned as regional director for the north.