John Lewis managing director Peter Ruis is to leave the partnership after two-and-a-half years in the role.
John Lewis Partnership said today that Ruis would be replaced by Will Kernan, who is currently a non-executive board member. Ruis said he was leaving to pursue new projects.
He will remain with the business until 6 September, while Kernan takes up the role in mid-September.
Ruis is currently in his second spell with JLP, having taken on the role as John Lewis MD in January 2024. He had previously spent almost nine years in the business from 2005 to 2013. During that period he held a number of roles, including buying and brand director.
JLP praised Ruis for leading a modernisation of the brand and the reimagining its of its Never Knowingly Undersold 100-year brand promise, as well as overseeing major investment into John Lewis stores.
Kernan has a career in retail spanning 35 years. His leadership experience includes CEO roles at River Island, The White Company and Wiggle.
He spent 13 years at New Look, holding various roles ranging from group financial director, group trading director, COO and group managing director.
His most recent role has been a chairman of high-end furniture and kitchen retailer Neptune. He has sat on the JLP board since 2023.
“After nearly three years of significant investment and modernisation, the business is now on a much stronger footing,” said Ruis.
“I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved, and there is so much more still to come. I would like to thank our customers, partners, brands and suppliers for their incredible support and I wish Will the best of luck as he takes up the reins.”
Kernan said: “Having served on the partnership’s board for three years, I have a clear understanding of the John Lewis business and a huge appreciation for the partnership’s values and employee-ownership model.
“We have significant headroom for growth and I’m looking forward to leading the team to ensure John Lewis remains the country’s most trusted and loved retailer, in store and online.”
JLP chairman Jason Tarry added: “Peter has done a fantastic job and will be missed by all of our partners. He’s injected energy and pace into the John Lewis transformation and we are sad to see him go.
“Will is perfectly placed to take John Lewis on to the next phase of development and growth. I’m pleased that we’ve been able to oversee an orderly succession with Will, who knows John Lewis and the team incredibly well from his time on the partnership’s board.”
The news comes after Tarry last week warned of profits being squeezed by tough trading conditions.
In an interview for the company’s internal magazine, Tarry said “We have to adjust for an immediate future that we weren’t expecting even six months ago, let alone a couple of years ago.
“The team is heavily focused at the moment on what that means for us in terms of adjusting our plan.
“It is difficult when things are tough from a sales perspective, but we’re holding our nerve around our focus on margin improvement and firm stock control, rather than just trying to chase top-line sales.”
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