Sir Gordon – who died on September 18 – held various roles at Boots, having joined the multiple in 1958, and served as managing director from 1988-1995. He was appointed chairman of the government's Armed Forces' Pay Review Body in 1993, and was knighted in 1997 for his “services to industry and the armed forces”.

During his 37-year tenure at Boots, he oversaw the introduction of care home dispensing, introduced a service to collect repeat prescriptions from GPs and the rollout of new electronic till systems across all Boots branches.

On his retirement in 1995, Boots chairman at the time Sir Michael Angus said Sir Gordon “had responsibility for the dramatic change in profitability at Boots in recent years and has provided inspirational leadership of the management team”.

Elizabeth Fagan, non-executive chairman of Boots – who worked with Sir Gordon during the 1980s – said she is “incredibly saddened” by his passing.

“Sir Gordon was an exceptional character and a huge influence on many at Boots, including myself. For many, Gordon was more than the managing director of the company; he was a pharmacist, statesman and our figurehead in Nottingham for a long period of time.”

“On behalf of everyone who has fond memories of his time at Boots, we would like to pay our respects and offer our most sincere condolences to his family,” Ms Fagan added.

Sir Gordon's father, William, ran an independent pharmacy in Edinburgh and his son is also a qualified pharmacist, the multiple told C+D.