Richard Corbridge, who officially started in the newly-created role last week, is “charged with reimagining the future of Boots from a customer experience perspective, helping drive the creation and prototyping of new ideas and offerings”, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“Building on Boots’ vision for the future,” Mr Corbridge will help develop “personalised and omni-channel (digital and store) new economy experiences for customers”, his profile states.

This will involve both “innovation to create a high street healthcare capability” and “reviewing [the] store of the future”.

Mr Corbridge previously held the role of chief digital and information officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where he was responsible for its digital transformation and “building a digital workforce”.

Mr Corbridge’s new role comes weeks after five new appointments were announced at Boots parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance, including Disney’s former senior vice president Gunjan Bhow leading the global business’s digital transformation.

Earlier this year, Boots made a number of announcements in relation to developing its digital offering, including its acquisition of health technology company Wiggly Amps and a pilot of Microsoft-powered healthcare devices in some Boots branches.

During a conference call to discuss Boots’ financial results in December 2018 – which revealed a drop in pharmacy and retail sales – Walgreens Boots Alliance co-chief operating officer Alex Gourlay said the multiple “recognised the need to modernise its customer proposition”.