John Lewis & Partners announce management shake-up

John Lewis & Partners has announced that Dino Rocos, partner and operations director, will retire at the end of May 2019 after 43 years with the business,

According to the group, from the end of January until he retires Rocos will report directly to Patrick Lewis, group finance director for the John Lewis Partnership.

Bérangère Michel, partner and finance director, has been appointed as operations director, and will take up her new role at the end of January, assuming responsibility for the end-to-end supply chain and the John Lewis & Partners shop estate.

As a result of Bérangère’s appointment, a recruitment process is underway for the role of finance director, and the position will be covered in the interim by Andy Mounsey, currently head of finance.

Paula Nickolds, partner and managing director, said: “I can’t overemphasise the scale of the contribution Dino has made to John Lewis – he has transformed every element of our supply chain to create the distribution network we enjoy today.

“I am extremely grateful to him for his support and commitment to the Partnership. Bérangère and Andy both bring a wealth of experience to their new roles and I wish them the very best of luck.”

Additionally, Waitrose & Partners has also announced the appointment of Ross Avery as its new finance director, who has worked for the John Lewis Partnership since 2001.

Avery originally worked in branches for the first seven years of his career, which was followed by several retail leadership roles. In 2013 he was appointed as head of strategy, and then spent three years as ecommerce director before being appointed transformation director in March 2018.

Rob Collins, Waitrose & Partners MD, said: “Ross is a talented, high calibre leader with the wide experience and deep understanding of our business that will make him a terrific FD.”