John Lewis names Pippa Wicks as Executive Director

The John Lewis Partnership has appointed Pippa Wicks as Executive Director for John Lewis. Wicks, the company said in a statement, joins from the Co-op Group where she was deputy chief executive and will start her new role in August. She will be responsible for trading, merchandising, marketing and developing propositions and services for John Lewis shops and johnlewis.com.

Commenting on Wicks’ appointment, 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. 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 is the new executive director of John Lewis

Wicks started her career as a senior manager with 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 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 and she was appointed chief operating officer of Co-op in 2014 and then deputy chief executive in March 2017.

“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,” added Wicks.

Wicks has previously been a non executive director for a variety of government departments, Hays plc, Ladbrokes plc, Hilton International plc and Arcadia plc. She 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.

The company added that 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, the company further said, will also continue in his role as Trading Director of John Lewis, reporting to Wicks.

Picture:John Lewis media centre