News story: Prime Minister appoints British Museum Trustee

Sir Charlie Mayfield became the John Lewis Partnership’s fifth Chairman in March 2007 after joining the Partnership in 2000 as Head of Business Development, responsible for business strategy and development for both John Lewis and Waitrose. Charlie joined the Board as Development Director in 2001 and was responsible for developing the Partnership’s online strategy. He became Managing Director of John Lewis in January 2005 prior to taking up his appointment as Chairman of the Partnership in March 2007.

Charlie began his career as an officer in the army. He joined SmithKline Beecham in 1992 and became Marketing Manager for the Lucozade brand, before moving to McKinsey & Co in 1996, where he worked with consumer and retail organisations.

Charlie is Chair of the Productivity Leadership Group and is the President of the Employee Ownership Association. He is also a Trustee of Place2Be and a Director of FabIndia, and Non-Executive Chairman of QA. He received a knighthood in June 2013 for services to business.

The role is not remunerated. This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election. Charlie has declared no such political activity.