John Lewis Partnership appoints John Lewis Executive Director
Wednesday 24 June
The John Lewis Partnership has today appointed Pippa Wicks as Executive Director for John Lewis. Pippa joins from the Co-op Group where she was Deputy Chief Executive and will start her new role in August.
Pippa will be responsible for trading, merchandising, marketing and developing propositions and services for John Lewis shops and johnlewis.com.
Sharon White, Partner & Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “I am delighted to welcome Pippa to the Partnership. She brings a wealth of experience of leading and developing businesses that deliver brilliant products and services to customers, both online and in stores. Pippa has an exceptional track record, including at the Co-op Group which, as a membership organisation, shares similar values to the Partnership in terms of the commitment to the communities we serve.”
“John Lewis and Waitrose are two of the most loved brands in the UK, and the Partnership the largest social enterprise. As we emerge from the pandemic there is tremendous opportunity for John Lewis to play an even bigger role in people’s lives. I am confident that under Pippa’s leadership the brand will continue to thrive.”
Pippa Wicks said: “I feel extremely privileged to be joining the John Lewis Partnership at such an important time in its history. As Executive Director responsible for the John Lewis business I look forward to working closely with Partners to steer through these extraordinary times in society and in retail. As the biggest employee-owned business in the UK and one of the biggest in the world there is an opportunity to provide both exceptional service for customers as well as really meaningful work for Partners.”
This new appointment forms part of a seven-strong executive team and follows James Bailey joining as Executive Director of Waitrose in April.
Simon Coble will also continue in his role as Trading Director of John Lewis, reporting to Pippa.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Pippa Wicks
Pippa started her career as a senior manager with strategic management consultancy Bain & Company and then went on to be Group CFO of Europe’s largest textile and clothing manufacturer, Courtaulds Textiles plc for seven years. Becoming CEO of FT Knowledge, a division of Pearson plc and one of the largest business education providers followed and then in 2003 she joined AlixPartners, a global management consulting and advisory firm. There she co-founded the firm’s European operations and took on a number of interim CEO and COO positions at both UK and European companies. In 2013 Pippa became involved with the Co-op when she was part of the team tasked with rebuilding the mutual following a sustained period of difficult trading and boardroom disruption. With the Co-op back on track Pippa was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2014 and then Deputy Chief Executive in March 2017, with specific responsibility for Strategy and Transformation as well as its market-leading Funeralcare, Legal Services and Co-op Insurance businesses. Pippa has previously been a Non Executive Director for a variety of government departments, Hays plc, Ladbrokes plc, Hilton International plc and Arcadia plc. Pippa is currently Chair of the Foundation Council of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Vice-Chair at AlixPartners and a Non Executive Director of the Metropolitan Police Service.
About the John Lewis Partnership
The John Lewis Partnership 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 Partnership is the largest employee-owned business in the UK and amongst the largest in the world, with over 80,000 employees who are all Partners in the business. For all intents and purposes, the Partnership is a social enterprise; the profits made are reinvested into the business - for customers and Partners. John Lewis & Partners operates 50 shops across the UK (36 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. Waitrose & Partners has 338 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 61 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. Waitrose & Partners exports products to more than 50 countries worldwide and has nine shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. The retailer's omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine and waitroseflorist.com for plants and flowers. Our food business is bigger than our non-food business and our John Lewis shop sales represent less than a quarter of the Partnership’s total revenue.