Boots has announced a leadership reshuffle that could prepare the ground for the iconic British retailer to separate from its parent company and potentially return to the London stock market, after chief executive Ornella Barra stepped down to become chair following nearly a decade in the top job.

Barra will replace her husband and long-time business partner Stefano Pessina as chair from next month, whilst her chief executive role will not be filled. Anthony Hemmerdinger, currently managing director for Boots UK, Ireland and Opticians, will instead assume broader responsibilities including oversight of the No7 Beauty brand and group-level functions such as IT and legal.

The restructuring follows last year's £6.7 billion takeover of Walgreens Alliance Boots by US private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which subsequently divided the business into five separate units. Boots now operates independently from Walgreens' US retail operations.

A person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times the changes could smooth the path for Boots to be separated from its parent company and potentially float on the London Stock Exchange in coming years, after previous attempts to sell the chain failed. Boots, one of the most recognisable names on British high streets, was part of the original FTSE 100 index before leaving in 2007 when it went private.

"For some time now, I have been considering transitioning to a less operational role," Barra said in a statement. "I concluded that this is the perfect moment and the right choice for me to best serve the company moving forward."

Barra will continue to chair the group's environmental, social and governance committee and remain a shareholder. Pessina, the Italian billionaire investor who has overseen Boots for nearly 20 years, will stay on the board.

The pair have been among the driving forces in European drug retailing for decades. Pessina built up wholesaler Alliance UniChem through a series of acquisitions before its merger with Boots in 2006, then took the company private with investment firm KKR a year later in what was then Europe's biggest buyout.

Under the new structure, other businesses in the Boots group including operations in Mexico, Germany and Thailand will operate independently of Hemmerdinger and report directly to the board.

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