John Lewis chair receives council backing despite disapproval on performance
The first vote saw the members of the council deem that they did not have confidence in the progress of the partnership under her leadership in the last year
John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White has been backed by the John Lewis council on whether they have confidence in her leadership moving forward, despite them voicing their disapproval over her decisions in the past year.
According to reports, White faced two votes on her leadership at the John Leadership council meeting held over the 9-10 May in which it saw the 61 members of the council vote on her leadership.
The first vote saw the members of the council deem that they did not have confidence in the progress of the partnership under her leadership in the last year, while the second saw them vote in favour of supporting her future strategy.
The votes are not enforceable but the council does withhold the right to remove the chair if it feels they are failing to meet responsibilities.
The news comes after the company revealed its losses increased to £234m in its full-year results, compared with a loss of £27m the prior year, with the group axing its staff bonus for a second time and warning of future job losses.
White also faced criticism for considering diluting its 100% staff ownership structure in a bid to raise investment. However, at the meeting today White also made clear that The John Lewis Partnership will always be an employee owned business and there is “absolutely no question of demutualisation”.
Chris Earnshaw, president of the John Lewis Partnership Council: “Every half year, the chairman attends our Partnership Council to give an update and discuss with councillors the progress of the partnership. This is central to how we exercise our democratic principles and ownership of the business.
“The council voted in support of the chairman to progress the Partnership in relation to its purpose, principles and rules. The council did not support last year’s performance, in which we reported a full year loss and no Partner Bonus. The council, chairman and board will continue to work together to ensure the long-term success of the Partnership and our employee-owned model.”
