Pippa Wicks
Pippa Wicks | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 18, 1962 United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, Business executive |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Known for | Former executive director at John Lewis & Partners |
Pippa Wicks (born 18 December 1962) is a British entrepreneur and former executive director at John Lewis & Partners.
Personal life
Wicks is the daughter of a marketing expert employed by Imperial Chemical Industries and a justice of the peace. During her early teenage years, her family relocated to Buckinghamshire. She completed her secondary education at Lady Verney High School in High Wycombe before pursuing a degree in zoology at the University of Oxford. Subsequently, she furthered her education at London Business School. Wicks is married and has one son along with two stepdaughters.
Career
Her professional journey commenced at Bain & Company, followed by a role as finance director at Courtaulds Textiles beginning in 1993. She later held positions at Pearson PLC and the consultancy firm AlixPartners. Wicks took on the role of interim chief operating officer at The Co-operative Group during a challenging period, earning an annual salary exceeding £1 million. In 2017, she advanced to deputy CEO amid organizational restructuring.
While at The Co-operative Group, Wicks advocated for programs that provided paid work experience to survivors of modern slavery. In 2019, she managed the £185 million merger of Co-op Insurance with Markerstudy Group.
In June 2020, Wicks was named head of John Lewis & Partners, marking the separation of this position from its previous joint leadership with Waitrose. She replaced Paula Nickolds in August 2020 and was among five women serving on the John Lewis Partnership board at that time. Wicks departed from John Lewis in February 2023, having been instrumental in ending the retailer’s century-long 'Never Knowingly Undersold' pricing commitment. On 5 September 2024, John Lewis declared the reinstatement of this pricing guarantee.