Waitrose owner the John Lewis Partnership’s chief customer officer Charlotte Lock is to step down after three years at the retailer.

Posting to LinkedIn today (7 January), Lock said she would be leaving the Partnership for a role which is a “personal passion” and that she would be sharing more on the new position at a later date.

She first joined the partnership in March 2022, leading the customer strategy, propositions, brand and marketing channels, among other responsibilities.

Her tenure at the upmarket retailer came after a more than two year stint at convenience retailer Co-op, where she most recently held the role of director of data, loyalty and digital products.

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Lock continued: “For now I want to thank the talented JLP customer team, fellow partners (past and present) and agencies for your friendship and support over the years. It’s been a privilege and I’m so proud of all we have achieved together.”

A John Lewis Partnership spokesperson said: “Charlotte has taken the decision to leave her position as John Lewis and Pan-Partnership Customer Director. Over the last three years, Charlotte has made a significant contribution to our business.

“Under her Customer leadership, we have grown customer numbers, our loyalty programmes, our net promoter scores and brand and customer satisfaction metrics. Charlotte led the relaunch of our JLP brand identity and John Lewis brand promise; introduced distinctive shop and online propositions; drove the growth of our retail media business; as well as leading our Christmas campaigns.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Charlotte for her dedication and contribution to the transformation of JLP and wish her all the best for the future.”

The change comes just three months after John Lewis Partnership CEO Nish Kankiwala unveiled plans to step back into his non-executive role at the group.

Kankiwala will resume his position on the board in March 2025 to support new chairman, former Tesco UK boss Jason Tarry.

At the time, the Waitrose owner said the role of chief executive will not be directly replaced, and reflects the “significant progression of the transformation” of the business.