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Pippa Wicks

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British businesswoman (born 1962)

Pippa Wicks
Born (1962-12-18) 18 December 1962 (age 62)
NationalityBritish
EducationUniversity of Oxford
OccupationBusinesswoman
TitleExecutive Director
TermAugust 2020 - 2023
PredecessorPaula Nickolds
SuccessorPeter Ruis

Pippa Wicks (born 18 December 1962) is a British businesswoman, and the former executive director of John Lewis & Partners.

Personal life

Wicks 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. She studied zoology at the University of Oxford, and later studied at the London Business School.

She is married and has a son and two stepdaughters.

Career

Wicks has worked for Bain & Company. In 1993, she left Bain to become finance director at Courtaulds Textiles. Wicks later worked for a business education company, Pearson, before moving to consultancy firm AlixPartners. Wicks was later hired by The Co-operative Group as interim chief operating officer. When Wicks joined the Co-operative Group, the company's future was uncertain. At The Co-operative Group, Wicks earned over one million pounds a year. In 2017, Wicks was appointed deputy chief executive officer of The Co-operative Group in a restructure following Richard Pennycook's resignation as CEO. 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. In 2019, whilst Wicks was deputy CEO, Co-op Insurance was merged with Markerstudy Group at a cost of £185 million.

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. The role has been separated from the previous joint role of head of John Lewis and Waitrose. Wicks took up the position in August 2020, and succeeded Paula Nickolds as head of John Lewis & Partners. At the time of her appointment, she was one of five women on the board of the John Lewis Partnership. Wicks left John Lewis & Partners in February 2023. Wicks was instrumental in the 'ditching' of the organisation's century-old 'Never Knowingly Undersold' pledge. On 5 September 2024 it was announced that John Lewis were bringing back Never Knowingly Undersold.

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Butler, Sarah. "John Lewis appoints Pippa Wicks as executive director". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Pippa Wicks". Bloomberg. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  4. "Courtaulds Textiles links two top jobs". The Independent. 4 March 1993. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  5. "Co-op boss accused of breaking his own policies in sacking claim". Financial Times. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  6. "Senior Co op executive denies conflict of interest". The Times. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  7. "Profile: Pippa Wicks – the new John Lewis director unafraid to stare down the barrel". Retail Week. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. "Co-op boss takes a 60% cut in his pay package". The Guardian. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  9. "Co-op chief executive to step down". The Independent. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  10. "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.
  11. "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.
  12. ^ "John Lewis appoints new department store chief". PA Media. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020 – via The National.
  13. "John Lewis poaches Co-op deputy CEO for executive director role". The Grocer. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. "John Lewis brings back 'never knowingly undersold' price pledge". BBC News. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  17. Butler, Sarah (5 September 2024). "John Lewis brings back 'never knowingly undersold' promise". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
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