Richard Baker

Richard Baker hates queues. He is the sort likely to put down his basket and leave a store if he is kept waiting too long at the till. But while he may be an impatient shopper, Baker plays a longer game in business.

Last week he surprised the industry when he was named chairman of sofa specialist DFS following its takeover by Advent International, the private equity house where Baker has been an operating partner since last August.

The acquisition came as a shock because it had appeared that DFS founder Lord Kirkham had ruled out a deal. Just last month Kirkham said he was “categorically not interested in selling”. Why should he, he asked - “I don’t need the money. I’m loaded”.

However, behind the scenes Advent and Baker continued to talk to the tycoon, culminating in a sale and Baker’s installation as chairman. To most people in retail, DFS and Kirkham are one and the same and Baker faces a challenge taking over from such a forceful and hands-on character.

Kirkham spoke warmly of Baker when the deal was announced. He said: “His track record, style and approach fill me with absolute confidence that DFS will grow and strengthen under his leadership.”

The evidence backs up the sofa king’s view. After a stint as chief operating officer of Asda, Baker jumped ship to run health and beauty giant Boots, which he reinvigorated, merged with Alliance Unichem in 2006 and then sold to KKR and Alliance’s founder, Stefano Pessina, for £11bn in 2007. The deal is understood to have netted Baker about £6.5m personally.

Baker is one of the golden generation that earned their spurs at Asda and whose luminaries also include Sainsbury’s boss Justin King and the present Alliance Boots group chief executive Andy Hornby. From Asda he brings an informal style and ability to engage with people of all sorts, both pivotal in establishing the business culture that propelled the chain up the grocery league.

Asda chief executive Andy Bond rates Baker highly. “I’m a big fan,” he says. “He’s a very good thinker and he’s good at building a strong team.”

Scott Wheway, the former Boots the Chemists managing director who is now chief executive of Best Buy Europe, concurs. He says: “Richard is one of the world’s most people-centred retailers. He has a great ability to listen across all levels in an organisation and spot the right things to do.”

Bond says that traditionally Asda gives its managers plenty of autonomy and has a devolved decision-making process. Such characteristics mean that those like Baker are given responsibility early and learn quickly.

At DFS the people skills will be important. Baker was proud of the fact that at Boots, following the merger with Alliance, none of the top executives from either business was lost. At DFS, he will be join an established management team and has made clear he expects to work with the incumbents.

Kirkham will retain a financial interest in DFS and 47-year-old Baker’s experience at Alliance Boots is also likely to come in handy in managing that relationship. Pessina, like Kirkham, is a single-minded owner-manager and although Baker left soon after the KKR deal, his dealings with the tycoon will have given him insights into such business people’s style.

Since leaving Boots, Baker has followed in the footsteps of former Asda boss Allan Leighton by ‘going plural’. He is a non-executive director of Whitbread, the Costa Coffee to Beefeater hospitality group, and he is chairman of health club business Virgin Active and of the European advisory board of Groupe Aeroplan, owner of the Nectar loyalty scheme.

But at present, DFS will no doubt be front of mind. After queuing for such a long time to buy the business, Baker will be itching to get to work.