The John Lewis Partnership has announced that chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield will step down in 2020.
The parent company of upmarket grocer Waitrose and eponymous department store John Lewis has confirmed that it has begun the search for a successor to Mayfield.
Mayfield is the company’s fifth chairman since the partnership was established in 1928.
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A new chairman is expected to be announced in the second half of 2019.
“Although my departure is still a considerable way off, the appointment of my successor is a key responsibility,” Mayfield said.
“It is for this reason I have decided to lay out the timetable now to enable an open and thorough process to select the next Chairman of the Partnership.”
John Lewis Partnership said the process for selecting a new chairman has been “extensively modernised” and will be overseen by a nominations committee, comprising of two elected directors, two independent non-executive directors and the chairman.
The committee is chaired by deputy chairman Keith Williams and supported by independent recruitment consultants, who will be considering both internal and external candidates.
Mayfield’s resignation comes two months after the John Lewis Partnership unveiled a 98.8 per cent fall in underlying pre-tax profits to £1.2 million for the six months to July 28.
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