The John Lewis Partnership has announced the appointment of Helen Webb OBE as its chief people officer.

She joins the retailer from WHSmith, where she worked for over two years through large-scale employee changes as chief people officer.

Webb also worked as chief people & services officer at Co-op, spending around eight years at the grocery chain.

Earlier in her career, Webb spent eight years working at Sainsbury’s and held senior roles at Marks & Spencer and Aviva.

Webb will take up the role at John Lewis on 24 November.

Webb replaces Jo Rackham who held the role of interim chief people officer over the past 18 months.

Over this period, John Lewis said that Rackham had implemented important changes that will benefit the company in the years ahead.

“I’m delighted to appoint Helen to the executive team as our new chief people officer,” said Jason Tarry, chairman of the partnership. “She will be instrumental in shaping the partnership's people strategy, fostering our strong partner ethos and driving talent development.

“Helen will play a crucial role in nurturing our unique Partner culture and ensuring the partnership remains a fantastic place to work.”

In August, John Lewis announced that Dom McBrien will join the firm as its chief digital & omnichannel officer, a role that will sit on the company’s management board.

McBrien has over 20 years of digital transformation experience.

He joined John Lewis from Glanbia Performance Nutrition where he worked as global president for direct to consumer. McBrien has also previously held the role of chief executive at Body&Fit.

Additionally, McBrein spent two years working as multichannel trading director for Marks and Spencer and spent over two years as director of multichannel at New Look.

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