John Lewis Partnership’s chair, Sharon White, will be stepping down from her role as a non-executive at Barratt Developments on 30 June 2023.
Her departure from the housebuilder’s board comes a week after chair John Allan stepped down over allegations of improper conduct while he was chair at Tesco.
White joined as a non-executive director on 1 January 2018, two years prior to taking the role of chair of John Lewis.
Her tenure at the retailer, which also encompasses Waitrose, hasn’t been without turbulence.
The group reported a loss of £234mln in the last financial year, abandoned bonuses to its employees and even flirted with the idea of moving away from its staff-ownership model.
The staff took a vote on her leadership and decided she was still the best person to lead the company, although they were clear they didn't agree with all her past decisions.
White, who previously held the position of CEO at Ofcom, has been tipped by some corners of The City to be in contention for the role of chair at the BBC when Richard Sharp steps down at the end of this month.
Last month, The Telegraph tipped her as one of the potential candidates for the BBC's top job.
Sharp decided to resign from the broadcaster after he was found to have broken impartiality rules.
Another role that may soon also become available is CEO of ITV.
Carolyn McCall is facing intense scrutiny following the Phillip Schofield scandal, which could have huge ramifications for ITV’s advertising revenue and viewership.