Andy Hornby, who was CEO of HBOS plc until it was acquired by Lloyds Banking Group in January in a rescue launched by the UK government, has taken over as group chief executive of Alliance Boots. Hornby's appointment will be effective from 1 July.

In his new assignment Hornby will report to executive chairman Stefano Pessina.

According to Alliance Boots, Hornby gained considerable retail and marketing experience during his stint at ASDA where he held a number of senior general management roles including managing director of its clothing business, George.

His later assignments included leading the retail divisions of Halifax and then HBOS, before becoming chief operating officer and finally chief executive.

Alliance Boots is an international company straddling the pharmaceuticals, and health and beauty market space with a wide range of products and services.

The company has been operating without a chief executive since the exit of Richard Baker in 2007, after the group went private in a venture operated by Pessina and private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Hornby's appointment has however raised eyebrows in the industry especially due to the failure of HBOS under him, which was later saved from collapse by Lloyds TSB. His return comes to top comes after just nine months after the government brokered a takeover from which the troubled banking group seems to be still fighting to recover.

According to industry sources, the question being asked is whether a man with his reputation is the best choice for one of UK's top retailing jobs. They point out that his record of performance does little to inspire confidence in his abilities for the top post.

Hornby who was educated at Oxford and Harvard was a rising star in retail prior to joining HBOS in 1999. He held senior positions at Asda and the UK operations of US sector giant Wal-Mart. Hornby also holds charge as non-executive director of Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail.

Being only 42-years old, Andy has time to make amends for the blot in his career and with his knowledge of the sector he is now, he is sure to prove the Doubting Thomases wrong, sources say.

They add that he is fortunate to have received the backing from a private company Boots, which was taken over by Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina and US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts.

A publicly-listed company would probably not have been able to consider him for the position in the face of shareholder pressure for hiring a chief executive with a controversial record, they add.

They say the move may be a shrewd gamble for Boots, but many former HBOS workers will find their ex-boss's appointment to a top position in a leading company difficult to reconcile with as they struggle to find new jobs.