Pets at Home Group Plc has announced the appointment of Louise Stonier as Chief Operating Officer of the Group’s veterinary business, Vets4Pets.

She succeeds Jane Balmain, who announced her intention in January 2022 to retire from the business, having re-joined Vets4Pets out of retirement over three years ago to lead its successful turnaround.

• Louise will be appointed as COO Designate on 30 May 2022 prior to her appointment as COO on 24 June 2022, with Jane remaining in the business until Autumn 2022 to oversee a seamless transition.
• Louise is currently Chief People and Culture Officer of the Pets at Home Group and the longest serving director on the Group Executive.
• In her current role, Louise has been instrumental in formulating Pets at Home’s values and behaviours and ensuring its unique culture is embedded in decision making across the Group.
• Louise has worked closely with the Group’s veterinary business throughout her time at Pets at Home, with her focus on people and culture providing critical insight into the needs of clinical teams and Partners.

Lyssa McGowan, Chief Executive Officer Designate of Pets at Home, said: “I am delighted that Louise has accepted the role of Chief Operating Officer of our veterinary group. Louise is a highly regarded member of our Executive Team with significant experience across the Group, most recently leading our People Team and helping to embed our strong focus on culture. She has an in-depth understanding of our unique partnership model and the opportunities and challenges facing our Partners and their clinical teams.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Jane Balmain for her significant contribution and expert stewardship of our veterinary business. Having achieved all that she set out to do, Jane is leaving the business on a very strong footing, and I’m delighted that she will be supporting Louise over the coming months before enjoying a very well-deserved retirement.”

Louise Stonier commented: “Vets4Pets is a really special business led by extremely talented and passionate Partners and teams who always put pet welfare first. I am thrilled to have been appointed Chief Operating Officer and excited to pick up the baton from Jane to take the business through its next phase of growth.”