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Peter Markey in front of the pod in The Spark.

Boots chief marketing officer receives Honorary Doctorate

9 July 2024

Peter Markey, an award-winning marketer working at the helm of marketing for one of the UK‘s largest retailers, has received an Honorary Doctorate from Solent University, Southampton.

Becoming an Honorary Doctor of Business, in recognition of his impactful, decades-spanning career in marketing, Pete accepted his award at Southampton Guildhall on Tuesday 9 July.

An alumnus of Solent and Chair of the University’s Business Advisory Board, Peter has been recognised for his inspirational leadership, underpinned by a commitment to diversity and inclusion. As a professional, Peter pays it forward as a champion of others, acting as a mentor both to students at Solent and at The Marketing Academy. Peter says:

“Solent University played such a pivotal role in my life and career, so it’s a huge honour to be presented with this Honorary Doctorate. I plan to use the platform this gives me and my work at Boots to continue to be a force for good in our industry, and in business at large.

“Thank you to the fantastic team at Solent for this award – it’s an absolute joy to continue to work with you in my role with the University Business Advisory Board.”

Currently serving as Chief Marketing Officer for Boots, where he is responsible for brand and marketing in the UK and Republic of Ireland, Peter is also the Executive Sponsor for the Boots Pride BRG Network, as well as co-Executive Sponsor for the Boots and Macmillan Cancer Support Partnership.

An expert in a range of sought-after disciplines, for marketing and sales, to customer experience and operations, Peter impressive career has included senior leadership roles at Aviva, RSA and TSB. During his career, Peter has won two CIM Marketing Team of the Year awards.

Passionate about diversity and inclusion, Peter has been recognised for his work in this area, winning the Corporate Ally award at the Rainbow Honours Awards in 2022 and the Corporate Ally trophy at the Rainbow Honours Awards in 2022.

The recipient of five Marketer of the Year awards, Peter is a nationally-recognised marketing professional and regularly features in the Campaign Power 100, which recognises the leading marketers in the UK.

As an Honorary Doctor of Business, Peter is now an inspiring figure for students looking to carve out a career as impressive as his own.

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Business, marketing and finance

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