The CEO of John Lewis steps back as the chairman tightens his grip

John Lewis has axed its chief executive position just weeks after the departure of Sharon White.

Nish Kankiwala will step down in March after just two years in the role and become a non-executive director.

The group said they would not replace Kankiwala, who will work until the end of his two-year contract until March 2025.

New chairman Jason Tarry, the former British boss of Tesco who succeeded White in mid-September, will take on all executive responsibilities of the group behind the department store chain and Waitrose supermarkets.

The shake-up marks a further break from the White era, with John Lewis recently reviving the ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ prize promise it scrapped.

Kankiwala became John Lewis’s first-ever CEO in March 2023, as the company grappled with a massive turnaround.

But in recent months there have been signs of a revival at the partnership, which made a small profit last year.

The group yesterday cited “significant progress in transformation” as the reason for not replacing Kankiwala.

The company, which owns 34 department stores, was accused of losing its way after focusing on non-retail revenues, including build-to-rent projects.

But Kankiwala said there had been “intense” changes at the group and it had “renewed our partnership strategy to be rooted in retail”.

He also pointed out that the group is returning to full-year profits and boosting cash flows to enable higher investments.

The retail veteran was hired as a trusted turnaround specialist, with a resume that includes top positions at Hovis and Burger King.

“I am confident that Jason will make the partnership go from strength to strength in the next phase of our transformation and I am pleased to continue supporting him and the board in an advisory role going forward,” Kankiwala added.

Tarry said Kankiwala “has been instrumental in accelerating the transformation of the partnership.”

“I am grateful that he (Kankiwala) has agreed to stay on as a non-executive board advisor,” he said.

A key test for Tarry will be whether he gets back the group’s annual staff bonus, which the group has not paid to staff for three out of four years.

After a period of decline, the group says it is on track for significantly higher profits this year.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘The abolition of the CEO position strengthens the partnership model concept at John Lewis.

‘So it’s back to business as usual, after the shock of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, with the Never Knowingly Undersold prize promise also making a comeback last month.’