The John Lewis Partnership has begun the search for a successor to Sir Charlie Mayfield, who will step down as the Partnership’s fifth Chairman in its nearly 100 year history during 2020. The new Chairman will be announced in the second half of 2019.

The process for selecting a new Chairman has been extensively modernised and will be overseen by a Nominations Committee, comprising of two elected directors, two independent non-executive directors and the Chairman. The Committee is chaired by Keith Williams, the Deputy Chairman, and supported by independent recruitment consultants, who will be considering both internal and external candidates.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, Partner & Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: 'Although my departure is still a considerable way off, the appointment of my successor is a key responsibility. It is for this reason I have decided to lay out the timetable now to enable an open and thorough process to select the next Chairman of the Partnership.'

Notes to editors

The John Lewis Partnership www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk owns and operates two of Britain's best-loved retail brands, John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners. Started as a radical idea nearly a century ago, the John Lewis Partnership is now the largest employee-owned business in the UK, with 83,000 employees who are all Partners in the business and share in its profits. The John Lewis Partnership operates on strong democratic principles, which means that every Partner has a say in how the organisation is run. The business has annual gross sales of over £11.5bn, over 400 shops and a leading online business. Its commercial strategy is focused on differentiation rather than scale, through investment in innovation and Partner led service.

Nominations Committee Members

Sir Charlie Mayfield, Partner & Chairman
Keith Williams, Deputy Chairman and Non Executive Director
Nicky Spurgeon, Partner & Elected Director
Steve Gardiner, Partner & Elected Director
Laura Wade-Gery, Non Executive Director

Enquiries

For further information please contact:

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

Simon Rigby
Joint Managing Director
Mobile: 07771 784446

Jos Bieneman
Director
Mobile: 07834 336650

Ellen Wilton
Associate Director
Mobile: 07921 352851

John Lewis Partnership

Simon Fowler
Partner & Director of Communications
Mobile: 07710 398460

Clayton Hirst
Partner & Group Head of Corporate Affairs
Mobile: 07947 708167

Sarah Henderson
Partner & Group Senior External Communications Manager
Mobile: 07764 676036