Annual Report and Accounts 2016


John Lewis Partnership plc


69


Senior executives attend Partnership Board and Committee meetings as appropriate to support business proposals, investments and report on material matters in relation to the business. Partnership Board members are given relevant and timely documentation in advance of each Partnership Board and Committee meeting.


The Partnership Board agendas are structured to create sufficient time for strategic discussion and debate. This includes both the business plan and focus on the longer term direction of the Partnership, It’s Your Business 2028. See pages 14 to 27 for more on how the Partnership is looking to 2028.


What other Committees assist the Partnership Board?


The Partnership Board is assisted in carrying out its oversight and assurance responsibilities by its committees: the Audit and Risk Committee, the Corporate Responsibility Committee, the Chairman’s Nominations Committee and the Remuneration Committee. The responsibilities of these committees are set out in each committee’s report, and their respective terms of reference are available at www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk


The Audit and Risk Committee report can be found on page 82, the Corporate Responsibility Committee report on page 88, the Chairman’s Nominations Committee report on page 90, and the Remuneration Committee report on page 94. As a consequence of the appointment of three new Elected Directors in April 2015, the membership of the Committees was reviewed, resulting in various changes of membership. Charts detailing Committee membership and meeting attendance are included in each Committee’s report.


From time to time, the Partnership Board also delegates authority to ad hoc committees to help finalise matters within agreed parameters set by the Partnership Board.


The Partnership Board members in more detail


Chairman


Sir Charlie Mayfield holds the position of Chairman. This is an executive role. He is Chairman of the Partnership Board by virtue of his appointment as the Chairman of the Trust Company. More information about the Chairman’s role as a governing authority can be found on page 65, and in ‘Our governance model is different’ on page 76.


Deputy Chairman


Keith Williams holds the position of Deputy Chairman of the Partnership Board by virtue of his position as Deputy Chairman of the Trust Company. He succeeded Lord Price who held the role until 3 April 2016. He is also a Non- Executive Director, Chair of the Corporate Responsibility Committee and Deputy Chair of the Chairman’s Nominations Committee.


The Deputy Chairman acts as a sounding board for the Chairman and the other Directors and is available to Partners if they have concerns.


Executive Directors


The Executive Directors at the date of this report are Tom Athron, Rob Collins, Tracey Killen, Patrick Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield and Andy Street.


During the year under review, Patrick Lewis, already a member of the Partnership Board as Managing Director of Partnership Services, was appointed Group Finance Director with effect from 14 September 2015. He succeeded Loraine Woodhouse who was appointed Acting Group Finance Director on 1 December 2014 and is now Finance Director of Waitrose.


Tom Athron, formerly Finance Director of Waitrose, joined the Partnership Board as Group Development Director on 5 October 2015.


After a 33 year career, Lord Price ceased to be a Director of the Partnership Board on 18 March 2016 and stepped down as Managing Director of Waitrose and Deputy Chairman of the Partnership on 3 April. Rob Collins, formerly Waitrose’s Retail Director, was appointed to succeed Mark as Managing Director of Waitrose and joined the Partnership Board on 4 April 2016.


The appointment of Executive Directors is subject to a recommendation by the Chairman and overseen by the Chairman’s Nominations Committee, which takes into account, among other things, the make-up of the Partnership Board and its balance of skills, experience and diversity.


Partners’ Counsellor


The Partners’ Counsellor, Jane Burgess, is appointed by the Chairman and is a member of the Partnership Council and a Director of the Partnership Board in accordance with Rule 82 of the Constitution.


The Partners’ Counsellor seeks to ensure that the Partnership is true to its principles and compassionate to individual Partners. The Partners’ Counsellor has responsibility for the independence, health and effectiveness of the Partnership’s elected representative bodies, and for developing detailed guidelines for them.


She is responsible for Registry, which is an independent function that reports to the Chairman and assures the application of the Partnership’s Principles within the business, whose purpose is to ensure Partners’ views and opinions are heard.


The relationship between the Partners’ Counsellor, Elected Directors and Partners enables Partners’ views to be communicated to the Partnership Board as a whole, allowing the Partnership Board to maintain a balanced understanding of the issues and concerns of Partners.


It’s Your Voice


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