John Lewis hires former Hovis boss Nish Kankiwala as its first chief exec
Troubled John Lewis hires former Hovis boss Nish Kankiwala as its first-ever chef
The John Lewis Partnership has appointed its first CEO as chairman Sharon White battles to turn the 95-year-old retail giant around.
Nish Kankiwala, 65, the former Hovis boss, has been promoted to the job at the company, which owns John Lewis department store chain and Waitrose supermarkets.
The appointment comes just days after White, 55, said she found it “rather difficult to recruit men” and received backlash for hiring and promoting women.
Top job: Nish Kankiwala (pictured) has been promoted to chief exec at the John Lewis Partnership, which owns the John Lewis department store chain and the Waitrose supermarkets
Speaking at an event for International Women’s Day, she said she had received complaints for trying to “rebalance” the retailer away from its masculine “command and control” culture.
White tries to revive the fate of the John Lewis Partnership after two years of losses.
The company made a profit of £146 million in 2019-20, but lost £517 million in 2020-21 and £26 million in 2021-22. Another loss for 2022-23 is feared when it reports full-year results today.
White closed 16 loss-making stores during the pandemic, but still faces rising costs.
It has already reported a loss of £99 million for the six months to the end of July.
Kankiwala was hired after a two-year stint as a non-executive director, as well as senior positions at Burger King and Pepsi.
White will now be “fully responsible” for the partnership model and his “major commercial choices.”
The new CEO would “leverage his significant transformation experience to drive day-to-day performance and profitability,” she added.