Pippa Wicks (born 18 December 1962) is a British businesswoman, and the former executive director of John Lewis & Partners.
Pippa Wicks | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 December 1962 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | University of Oxford |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
| Title | Executive Director |
| Term | August 2020 - 2023 |
| Predecessor | Paula Nickolds |
| Successor | Peter Ruis |
Personal life
editWicks was born on 18 December 1962 to a father employed in marketing at the chemicals company Imperial Chemical Industries, and a mother who was a justice of the peace. During her early teens, her family moved to Buckinghamshire. She attended Lady Verney High School in High Wycombe.[1] She studied zoology at the University of Oxford,[2][3] and later studied at the London Business School.[3]
She is married and has a son and two stepdaughters.[1]
Career
editWicks has worked for Bain & Company.[2] In 1993, she left Bain to become finance director at Courtaulds Textiles.[4] Wicks later worked for a business education company, Pearson, before moving to consultancy firm AlixPartners.[2][1] Wicks was later hired by The Co-operative Group as interim chief operating officer.[5][6] When Wicks joined the Co-operative Group, the company's future was uncertain.[7] At The Co-operative Group, Wicks earned over one million pounds a year.[8] In 2017, Wicks was appointed deputy chief executive officer of The Co-operative Group in a restructure following Richard Pennycook's resignation as CEO.[9] Wicks was an advocate of The Co-operative Group setting up a programme to employ victims of modern slavery, giving them a four-week paid work experience placement.[10] In 2019, whilst Wicks was deputy CEO, Co-op Insurance was merged with Markerstudy Group at a cost of £185 million.[11]
In June 2020, Wicks was announced as the new head of John Lewis & Partners, a British department store which is part of the John Lewis Partnership group.[2][12] The role has been separated from the previous joint role of head of John Lewis and Waitrose.[12] Wicks took up the position in August 2020,[2][13] and succeeded Paula Nickolds as head of John Lewis & Partners.[2] At the time of her appointment, she was one of five women on the board of the John Lewis Partnership.[2] Wicks left John Lewis & Partners in February 2023.[14] Wicks was instrumental in the 'ditching' of the organisation's century-old 'Never Knowingly Undersold' pledge.[15] On 5 September 2024 it was announced that John Lewis were bringing back Never Knowingly Undersold.[16][17]
References
edit- ^ a b c Chambers, Sam (17 July 2021). "After her Co-op crisis mission, now Pippa Wicks is focused on the redemption of John Lewis". The Sunday Times.
- ^ a b c d e f g Butler, Sarah. "John Lewis appoints Pippa Wicks as executive director". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ a b "Pippa Wicks". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Courtaulds Textiles links two top jobs". The Independent. 4 March 1993. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Co-op boss accused of breaking his own policies in sacking claim". Financial Times. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Senior Co op executive denies conflict of interest". The Times. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Profile: Pippa Wicks – the new John Lewis director unafraid to stare down the barrel". Retail Week. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Co-op boss takes a 60% cut in his pay package". The Guardian. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Co-op chief executive to step down". The Independent. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "Co-op offers jobs to victims of modern slavery and human trafficking". The Independent. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.; "'My captors took everything, my job gives me a future'". BBC News. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ "UK's Co-op sells insurance business to Markerstudy". Financial Times. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.; "MARKERSTUDY ACQUIRES CO-OP INSURANCE UNDERWRITING BUSINESS FOR £185M". Business Leader. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ a b "John Lewis appoints new department store chief". PA Media. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020 – via The National.
- ^ "John Lewis poaches Co-op deputy CEO for executive director role". The Grocer. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (27 February 2023). "John Lewis boss Pippa Wicks leaves after less than three years in job". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (27 February 2023). "John Lewis boss Pippa Wicks leaves after less than three years in job". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ "John Lewis brings back 'never knowingly undersold' price pledge". BBC News. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ Butler, Sarah (5 September 2024). "John Lewis brings back 'never knowingly undersold' promise". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 September 2024.