Sir Charlie Mayfield announces plans to step down from John Lewis

Sir Charlie Mayfield has announced his plans to step down from John Lewis, where he has been the fifth chairman in the partnership's near 100-year history. His successor will be revealed in the second half of 2019 and Sir Charlie will depart in 2020.

The process is now underway to find a replacement, which will be overseen by a Nominations Committee, comprising two elected directors, two independent non-executive directors and the Chairman. The Committee is chaired by Keith Williams, the Deputy Chairman, and supported by independent recruitment consultants, who will be considering both internal and external candidates.

Mayfield said that he had decided to lay out his succession planning now, even though his departure is some way off, owing to the importance of finding the right candidate for the role.

"Although my departure is still a considerable way off, the appointment of my successor is a key responsibility. It is for this reason I have decided to lay out the timetable now to enable an open and thorough process to select the next Chairman of the Partnership," he said.

Sir Charlie joined John Lewis in 2000 as head of business development and joined the board a year later. He became managing director in 2005 and deputy chairman and then chairman in 2007. He was awarded a knighthood for services to business in 2013.