John Lewis has announced the appointment of Sharon White as the brand's sixth Chairman. Sharon will take up the role when Sir Charlie Mayfield steps down in early 2020.

Since March 2015 Sharon has been the Chief Executive of Ofcom, the UK’s communications services regulator. Sharon is also a non-executive Board member of Barratt Developments Plc, the UK FTSE 100 house builder and a Trustee of Sadler’s Wells Trust Ltd. She is a trained economist and studied at Cambridge University and University College London.

Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, said: “Sharon White has had a stellar career in a number of senior strategic and executive roles and during a thorough, wide-ranging and extremely competitive search she stood out, both for me and for the Nominations Committee, as an exceptional candidate. I believe she has the vision, leadership, drive and flair to steer the Partnership through its next phase.