Walgreens Boots Alliance co-chief operating officer Alex Gourlay is to step down in Mid-May, according to a Bloomberg report.

Mr Gourlay who has been in his present post since 2016, will step down on May 17 with fellow co-COO Ornella Barra assuming the role of COO international. He will advise newly appointed CEO Roz Brewer until the end of 2021, at which point he will leave the company and return to the UK.

Mr Gourlay joined WBA upon its merger with Alliance Boots in 2016, having first joined Boots more than 40 years ago while completing his degree in pharmacy.

For many years he worked closely with Stefano Pessina, who left the post of CEO in March. At one point Mr Gourlay was considered a possible successor to Mr Pessina. 

The news comes one week after Boots UK pharmacy director Richard Bradley announced he was leaving the company after 23 years in order to take up a “range of board and advisory roles”.

“We’ve achieved some really special things together and had a positive impact on the health of millions of people,” Mr Bradley said in a Linkedin post. “Not a day goes by where I am not humbled and grounded by the care our teams bring to their communities.

“We haven’t just cared for patients – we’ve cared for each other – supporting, challenging and developing each other.”