Sir Stuart Hampson
Sir Stuart Hampson
Retail businesses are in constant turmoil yet the John Lewis Partnership remains a tightly run ship sailing through troubled waters. Much of this is due to exceptional leadership and business planning by our speaker of the month, retail legend Sir Stuart Hampson, who set the scene for retail growth and exceptional customer service when he was their chairman. Still highly regarded by his peers even in retirement, Sir Stewart is known as one of the most successful leaders of a blue chip company. He tells about exceptional leadership in troubled times and the qualities needed to steer a business in the right direction. Last year thousands of John Lewis partners experienced a profit windfall while other shops struggled to keep afloat. Many shops have now sunk without trace in recession because they failed to respond to changing market trends and the march of the internet in particular. Sir Stuart is an innovator and people watcher who knows many other reasons why this is happening and many of the solutions.
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Sir Stuart Hampson speaks on the following topics:
One of the longest serving and most successful leaders of a blue-chip company and a highly regarded businessman, Sir Stuart Hampson was chairman of the John Lewis Partnership for 14 years until his retirement in March 2007.
A popular and likeable businessman, Sir Stuart joined the partnership in February 1982 following a twelve-year career in the Civil Service. In 1986 he was appointed to the Partnership’s Central Board as Director of Research and Expansion and took charge of the Partnership’s development programme. The Deputy Chairmanship was added to his Partnership responsibilities in May 1989 and he became the fourth Chairman of the Partnership in 1993.
During those 14 years at the helm of JLP Sir Stuart presided over a courageous programme of modernisation, and all without sacrificing the partnership ethos and principles that were embodied in its 1929 constitution co-ownership and the happiness of its staff. His 14 years as chairman saw steady expansion, the refurbishment of the Oxford Street and Sloane Square department stores, the extension of trading hours, the expansion of the product range and the establishment of an online presence through John Lewis Direct and Ocado, the home-delivery grocery service.
The partnership’s 2006 results, announced shortly before Sir Stuart’s departure at the end of March 2007, are a testament to his efforts. Pre-tax profits hit a new high of £319m, up 27 per cent on the previous year, and the 68,000 staff – or “partners” — shared a bonus of £155m, up 29 per cent from 2005 and equivalent to 18 per cent of salaries. The fact that John Lewis continues to outperform the market is a direct result of its partnership structure, says Sir Stuart. “Our success comes from a host of improvements made by 68,000 people who are motivated to deliver outstanding customer service, which translates into profits that feed back to staff”, he says. “It’s a virtuous circle”.
A founding deputy chairman of London First and past President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (2005/06), he is President of the Employee Ownership Association and continues to champion the benefits of employee engagement in business. Sir Stuart chaired the team tackling Economic Renewal in deprived communities, and he is one of the Prince of Wales’s Ambassadors in this area. He has been a member of the Corporate Leaders Group pressing the government for stronger action on climate change.
Sir Stuart is a patron of the HFT (The Home Farm Trust Ltd), a national charity providing long term support for people with learning disabilities and their families. He lives with his wife in Buckinghamshire and has two grown up children.
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