| Paula Nickolds | |
| Birth Name: | Paula Margaret Nickolds |
| Nationality: | British |
| Education: | University of Southampton |
| Occupation: | Businesswoman |
| Former managing director, John Lewis | |
| Term: | January 2017-January 2020 |
| Predecessor: | Andy Street |
| Successor: | Pippa Wicks |
Paula Margaret Nickolds (born February 1973) is a British businesswoman. From January 2017 until January 2020, she was the managing director of the John Lewis department store chain.[1]
Nickolds was born in February 1973.[2] Her father, Clive Nickolds, was a senior director at Marks & Spencer, and head of its international operations.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Southampton,[1] and attended St Helen's School where she spent hours in the pool as a keen member of the swimming team.[3]
In 1994, Nickolds joined John Lewis as a graduate trainee at their Oxford Street flagship store.[1] In January 2017, she succeeded Andy Street as managing director of John Lewis; she thereby became the first woman to hold this position in the company's 153-year history.
She unexpectedly left the company in January 2020, along with two of John Lewis' most senior, long serving executives, just as it looked to navigate a radical overhaul to merge its grocery and department store businesses.[4]
In May 2021, it was announced that she has been appointed by Sainsbury's to run its £7.8bn clothing and general merchandise arm, putting her head-to-head with her former employer John Lewis.[5]
In January 2024, it was announced that she was leaving Sainsbury's to become chief executive at The White Company, starting at the end of March.[6]