Olivier Picard has taken over as the new chair of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), alongside the organisation's first-ever female vice chair Sukhi Basra.
Baldev Bange has become the NPA treasurer, while Mike Hewitson, Dave Thomas and Joanne Wolfe have joined the board until March 2027.
And for the next two years, Mike Hewitson and Sukhi Basra will represent the NPA to Community Pharmacy England (CPE).
The new leadership has taken place as outgoing NPA chair Nick Kaye's fixed term formally came to an end at an NPA board meeting this week.
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And other long-serving board members Raj Aggarwal, Dr Ian Cubbin, Michael Guerin, Andrew Lane and Raj Patel 'have served with distinction their maximum permissible term', the NPA said.
In a statement released today Mr Kaye said: 'It has been the professional privilege of my career to chair an organisation I care so deeply about. I want to thank the amazing people that work within the organisation and do so much behind the scenes, and my fellow board colleagues that spend time away from their businesses, family and friends and sacrifice a lot to represent us all.
'In the last two years, together, we have achieved a lot – including a sustained media campaign raising the profile of members, our struggles and showcasing community pharmacy as whole, and I do believe this moved the number positively in the English contract negotiations, whilst also supporting the entire membership across all four nations.'
Incoming NPA chair Mr Picard said he had 'big shoes to fill' taking over from his 'brilliant predecessor Nick Kaye who has worked so energetically on behalf of NPA members and will undoubtedly continue to do so'.
'His are big shoes to fill, but I will wear them with pride,' he said.
Mr Picard has been the vice chair of the NPA for the last two years and owns and operates four pharmacies in the Home Counties.
In a statement released today, he pledged to 'keep the interests of NPA members at the heart of everything I do'.
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'I will keep asking, why are we here and how can we make things better, together? For me the answer to that question is because we care, because we can see a system that can be better, because we believe that change is possible, and because we know that the people we serve – our patients, our communities and our colleagues deserve nothing less,' Mr Picard added.
New NPA vice chair Ms Basra has Sukhi Basra has owned CliniChem Pharmacy in Victoria, London, for more than 25 years.
She described herself as 'a keen advocate for raising the profile of community pharmacy', which she described as 'a humble profession that is frequently overlooked as a solution for important healthcare challenges'.
'We are clinicians and specialists in the use of medicines, not shop keepers,' she said in a statement today.
Ms Basra was also the second woman ever to be elected to the NPA board and is now its first female vice chair.
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She commented: 'It’s wonderful to be in a leadership position on a board with the highest proportion of female representation in the NPA’s long history.'
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