Pippa Wicks has been appointed as the new boss of John Lewis. Named as Executive Director, she essentially replaces Paula Nickolds who left her role as Managing Director earlier this year following a period of weak performance and an overhaul of the John Lewis Partnership’s management structure.
Wicks will join the struggling department store chain in August from her current role of Deputy Chief Executive at the Co-op Group. Prior to the Co-op, she worked in leadership positions at AlixPartners, was CEO of FT Knowledge, a division of Pearson, Group CFO of Courtaulds Textiles and a senior manager with Bain & Company strategy consultants.
In her new role, Wicks will be responsible for trading, merchandising, marketing and developing propositions and services for the John Lewis shops and its online operation.
Simon Coble will continue in his role as Trading Director of John Lewis.
The Partnership recruited James Bailey at Executive Director for its Waitrose chain back in April.
The two hirings mark a partial reversal of a plan put in place by the group’s previous Chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield. This entailed the roles of Managing Director at both Waitrose and John Lewis being scrapped in favour of a unified board structure with new job titles. It was intended to speed up decision-making, encourage the two brands to work together and strip out costs.
Wicks will become a member of the Partnership’s seven-person executive team under new Chairman Sharon White.
Commenting on the appointment, White said: “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.”
Wicks added: “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.”
Nick Bubb, an independent retail analyst, said John Lewis risked having “an excess of consultancy” in its leadership. Wicks joins White, a former government advisor and regulator, and the strategy director, Nina Bhatia, a former partner at advisory firm McKinsey & Company, on the John Lewis Partnership’s board.
However, he added: “She is used to running a business and with John Lewis’s move to services, fashion experience is less relevant.”
NAM Implications:
- JLP remains a two business model business.
- Which in more stable times would have been simpler to run separately via specialist help.
- Even more so, post lockdown…
- Watch this space…
