John Lewis Partnership plc annual report and accounts 2013

Governance Report continued

Three members constitute a quorum and must include the Chairman of the Committee and at least one non-executive director.

There have been four meetings during the year and directors’ attendance at meetings is shown in the table on page 42.

Role of the Chairman’s Nominations Committee

 The Chairman’s Nominations Committee operates in accordance with terms of reference that are available at www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk. The terms of reference were reviewed during the year. The Committee periodically:

• evaluates and considers the mix of skills, experience and diversity on the Partnership Board;

• oversees the process for executive director and non-executive director board appointments and makes recommendations to the Partnership Board;

• oversees the process of nominating and appointing the Chairman and Deputy Chairman in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Trustee;

• oversees the Chairman’s proposals for the succession planning process for executive directors and senior management;

• regularly reviews and agrees with each director their training and development needs; and

• reviews and arranges ongoing training and development requirements for the Partnership Board, both individually and as a whole.

The Committee is supported by the Director of Personnel and assisted by independent consultants, as required.

Work performed by the Chairman’s Nominations Committee

The Committee is satisfied that the mix of skills, experience and diversity on the Partnership Board are appropriate to achieve the Partnership’s purpose and in particular Principle 1. The Committee has overseen a busy year, including the recruitment and appointment of Helen Weir as Group Finance Director, the appointment of Jane Burgess as Partners’ Counsellor and the change in Patrick Lewis’ responsibilities from Partners’ Counsellor to Managing Director, Partnership Services. Helen Weir was recruited externally with the support of an external executive research consultancy. No open advertising or external search consultancy were required to fulfil the roles of Partners’ Counsellor or Managing Director, Partnership Services.

Six new directors have joined the Partnership Board and one new external member has been appointed to the Audit and Risk Committee. The Committee has arranged full, formal and tailored inductions for these seven individuals including opportunities to meet with relevant Partners. The newly elected directors have received additional support and training to fulfil their duties in their board roles and ensure they are aware of their statutory responsibilities. Appropriate time is set aside during the year for training on relevant topics concerning the functioning of the Partnership Board and the obligations of directors. Training topics this year have included directors’ duties, corporate governance and pensions. External training is arranged as appropriate.

Director attendance

Director attendance statistics for the year ended 26 January 2013 were:

Name

Maximum Nos of Meetings

Board - Audit & Risk  - Remuneration - Nomination

Charlie Mayfield           10 - - 4

David Barclay#               10 5 5 4

Johnny Aisher√               2 2 - -

David Anderson               9 5 - 4

Anne Buckley√             2 - 2 -

Jane Burgess**               4 1 - -

Marisa Cassoni√              4 - - -

Simon Fowler√                2 2 - -

Steve Gardiner†           8 - 4 4

Baroness Hogg#         8 5 4 -

Tracey Killen                 10 - - -

Patrick Lewis***            10 4 - -

Kim Lowe^                    10 - 4 -

Kevin Payne†                  8 3 - - 

Mark Price                   10 - - -

Tony Probert√                 2 - 2 -

Noel Saunders†             8 - - 4

Dan Smith†                     8 3 - - 

Andy Street                   10 - - -

Helen Weir*                   5 - - -

In addition to the Partnership Board meetings above, there were four board meetings which were constituted by the Partnership Board from

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