Healthy Vision, for Life

Robert Roger is the Non-Executive Chairman of Veonet, bringing over 40 years of leadership experience across healthcare, education, real estate, and consumer services. He has held senior executive and non-executive roles in private equity-backed businesses, with deep expertise in finance, strategy, operations, and business development.

Robert qualified as a chartered accountant and began his career in financial leadership, serving as CFO of The Tussauds Group (now part of Merlin Entertainments) from 1998 to 2007. He went on to lead Spire Healthcare as Chief Executive Officer from 2007 to 2016, one of the UK’s largest private hospital groups. From 2016 to 2022, he was CEO and Executive Chairman of iQ Student Accommodation, a leader in the UK’s purpose-built student housing sector.

In addition to his role at Veonet, which he has held since 2023, Robert serves as Non-Executive Chairman of Everlight Radiology and Allison Homes, both since 2022. He also assumed the role of Chairman of Busy Bees in September 2025.

Robert’s career reflects a sustained focus on governance, performance, and long-term value creation across complex, multi-site organisations.

Sebastian James is the Group CEO of Veonet, Europe’s leading group of optical healthcare providers, operating across seven countries and with over 300 specialist eye hospitals. Veonet consistently delivers best-in-class clinical outcomes and exceptional care experiences to its patients, leveraging long-lasting expertise and cutting-edge technology and innovation.

Since joining in 2024, he has been working with the team to cement Veonet’s important role both as a leading healthcare provider and as a strategic partner to national healthcare services across Europe. This includes increasing surgical capacity, bringing down waiting times, and improving community eye-health, using the power of scale to drive training, research, and medical governance, while staying close to the communities that it serves.
 
Prior to joining Veonet, Sebastian served as CEO of Boots UK , an £8 billion business with over 2,300 stores and 60,000 employees from 2018 to 2024. During this period, Boots underwent a significant transformation, with substantial gains in digital adoption, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Boots was also a pivotal player through the COVID-19 pandemic, being at the heart of the rapid rollout of NHS testing and vaccination services.

Before Boots, Sebastian was CEO of Dixons Carphone plc, where he oversaw the merger of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse to form a FTSE 100 company. During this period, the company achieved a fivefold shareholder return, grew revenue to £10.2 billion, and undertook an ambitious digital and operational transformation across 12 countries.

Sebastian holds an MBA from INSEAD and a law degree from Oxford University. A trustee of English Heritage, and previously of Save the Children, he brings a long-standing commitment to social impact, efficiency in public service delivery, and sustainable growth in healthcare.

Nick Maddock is the Group Chief Financial Officer of Veonet, with Board responsibility for finance, treasury, risk, IT, and Group HR matters.

As UK chartered accountant, he brings over thirty years of financial leadership experience, including multiple roles as Group CFO across both listed and private equity-owned businesses. He has deep expertise in the strategic and financial management of multi-national, multi-site organisations.

Prior to joining Veonet in early 2024, Nick led the £1bn IPO of McCarthy & Stone on the London Stock Exchange in 2015 and the £2.6bn refinancing of Viridor in 2021, including a landmark 22-year US private placement, following its carve-out by KKR from Pennon plc.

Since early 2024, when he joined Veonet, he has led the development of an integrated group finance function, the establishment of reporting, forecasting and performance management processes across the Group, and the formalisation of a robust framework of group-wide financial controls.

José María Merle is the Head of M&A at Veonet, where he leads inorganic growth initiatives across Europe and plays a key role in shaping the group’s expansion strategy across existing and new markets. He also serves on Veonet’s Board of Directors, contributing to long-term value creation in close collaboration with shareholders.

Before joining Veonet, he was Head of M&A at AniCura, where he led the group’s European growth strategy and coordinated an 11-member multinational M&A team. He also served as Interim CEO of Vetsum Hospitales Veterinarios, overseeing the integration of 28 clinics and 500 employees into AniCura.

His earlier career includes senior roles in PwC Corporate Finance, Banco Santander, FOQUS, and Banco Espírito Santo, with a strong focus on healthcare transactions.

José María holds a Master’s in Energy Business and Finance, an MBA in Financial Markets, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Economics. He brings more than 15 years of international experience across the healthcare, veterinary, and financial sectors.

Richard Woodward is the Chief Executive Officer of SpaMedica, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the business, from daily operations to long-term strategic planning. He brings extensive senior leadership experience across a range of sectors, including several years at board level within the healthcare industry.

At SpaMedica, Richard leads the organisation’s growth strategy and culture, ensuring the delivery of high-quality care and excellent outcomes for patients.

Carla Naumann is the Chief Executive Officer of Ober Scharrer Gruppe, one of Germany’s largest ophthalmology providers, with more than 135 locations and around 350 physicians. Since joining in April 2023, she has led the strategic direction of the organisation, drawing on her extensive experience in healthcare management and shaping the future of ophthalmic care in Germany.

Carla began her career as a healthcare consultant and spent 15 years at Schön Klinik Group in senior leadership roles overseeing multiple hospital sites and central functions.

Prior to joining Ober Scharrer Gruppe, she was Managing Director DACH at AniCura, where she led strategic initiatives and clinic integrations across the region.

Christoph Gassner has been the Chief Executive Officer of Vista Group since 2020. With over 13 years of experience in the healthcare sector, he has held key positions in consulting, industry, and healthcare, including as M&A advisor, CFO, and CEO of several publicly listed companies.

He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Lausanne and Michigan Technological University and is a certified public accountant. Christoph is deeply familiar with the complexity and regulatory landscape of the Swiss healthcare and ophthalmology industry and serves on various advisory groups and committees supporting cantonal and national regulatory authorities.

Christoph works alongside the Veonet Group Executive Board to shape the future of the field, advance innovative treatments and improve patient care.

Ramón Berra de Unamuno is the Chief Executive Officer of Miranza, a leading ophthalmology group in Spain, with a network of 26 clinics and 12 consultation centres, including a recent expansion into Portugal.

He began his management journey as Medical Director of the Mutualidad General Deportiva and later led healthcare consulting projects as Senior Manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Ramón brings over 20 years of leadership experience in healthcare national and international groups, having held senior roles across hospital, elderly care, and oncology sectors. He was a founding partner of VIAMED SALUD Hospital group, led hospital operations at USP Hospitales—now part of the Quirón Group—and served as General Manager at Grupo Sanyres. Prior to joining Miranza, he was Managing Director for Spain at GenesisCare, overseeing a nationwide network of oncology centres.

He holds a degree in Medicine and General Surgery and a Master’s in Administration and Management of Health Services. With more than two decades of experience, he brings comprehensive expertise in strategic leadership and healthcare operations.

Jannes Janssens is the Chief Executive Officer of Eyescan in the Netherlands, a position he has held since 2008. Under his leadership, Eyescan has expanded to 17 general ophthalmology clinics, 2 corrective surgery centres, and 5 clinics specialising in vitreous and retinal surgery.

He began his career as a nurse at University Medical Center Groningen in 1987, specialising in intensive care and oncology before pursuing studies in business administration.

He subsequently held several management and board positions in multiple Dutch hospitals. Jannes also serves on several advisory and supervisory boards in the healthcare sector, including Prescan B.V. and Health HUB.