Aularian Lyssa McGowan awarded OBE

Alumna Lyssa McGowan (1996, Geography) has been awarded an OBE for services to retail in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours.

This is in recognition of her transformational work as CEO of Pets at Home since 2022. Lyssa has created an integrated petcare business providing veterinary, retail and grooming services, which has driven strong growth, with consumer revenue rising to nearly £2 billion in 2025. She has also been recognised by Retail Week as one of 2024’s most influential leaders and Lyssa’s leadership has also seen the Pets Club membership grow to over 8 million, building on her extensive consumer experience from a 12-year career at Sky UK.

Lyssa writes: “It is a huge privilege to be named alongside such inspiring people. I am incredibly proud to lead Pets and see this as a shared honour for all our vets, nurses, groomers, retail and support colleagues who work so hard every day caring for the nation’s pets. It is so wonderful to receive this recognition of our efforts to create a better world for pets and the people who love them.”

Teddy Hall congratulates Lyssa on her wonderful achievement.