Retailer John Lewis Partnership has tapped former Hovis head Nish Kankiwala to take over as chief executive on 27 March as part of an effort to drive profitability.
The department store and supermarket operator, which has struggled to turn a profit in recent years, said chairman Sharon White will maintain responsibility for John Lewis as a whole – including keeping its existing partnership model in place and making major commercial decisions.
Kankiwala, on the other hand, will use his “significant transformation experience” in the newly created role to drive performance and profitability on a day-to-day basis.
In addition to being the former chief executive of baking outfit Hovis, he previously held senior roles at both Burger King and PepsiCo, and has been on the board of John Lewis since 2021.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
