Sharon White Keynote Speaker

Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership (2020-24)
Chair, Frontier Economics (2024-present)
Managing Director and Head of Europe, CDPQ Global (2024-present)

Sharon White's Biography

Dame Sharon White was Chairman of the John Lewis Partnership (2020-24) and the first woman ever to be appointed to this position. Today, she chairs Frontier Economics, one of the largest economic consultancies in Europe and heads Europe for CDPQ, one of Canada’s largest pension funds and the biggest institutional infrastructure investor in the world.

She is an acknowledged business leader and an authoritative speaker on leadership at scale, managing complex organisations and change transformation in both the public and private sectors.

Throughout her career, Sharon has held a number of senior roles within government, regulation, and business. During her five-year term at the John Lewis Partnership, she led the Partnership through the COIVD-19 pandemic and the worst of the cost-of-living crisis, returning it to profit and the strongest balance sheet in 25 years. Prior to this, she served as Chief Executive for Ofcom (2015-19), the UK’s communications regulator.

Sharon offers audiences a unique perspective on the complexities of leadership and business management, with a strong understanding of the UK and its wider global context. She has a keen interest in the UK economy and speaks confidently about the opportunities and risks it presents to businesses, helping them to navigate the ever-changing macroenvironment.

In 2020, Sharon was awarded a Damehood in the New Year’s Honours for her work at Ofcom. She was also name as Britain’s most influential black person in the 2023 Powerlist and in October 2024, The Times listed her as one of the ‘brains’ behind current economic policy thinking by the new Labour Government.

Leadership at scale

Managing complex organisations

Navigating purpose driven business

Change management and organisational transformation

Regulation and governance

Business and economic outlook

She has led at the highest levels across business, regulation and government, including as Chair of the John Lewis Partnership and Chief Executive of Ofcom, giving leaders a rare, end-to-end view of how complex systems really work.
She guides organisations through high-stakes change, drawing on first-hand experience steering John Lewis through the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis while rebuilding performance and resilience.
She brings boardroom credibility and investor-grade economic insight as Chair of Frontier Economics and Europe Head for CDPQ, helping executives connect macroeconomic shifts to practical decisions.
She equips leadership teams to navigate uncertainty in the UK and global economy, translating policy, regulation and market dynamics into clear priorities for strategy, reputation and growth.
She speaks with authority on leadership at scale and inclusive decision-making, grounded in a career recognised at the highest level with a Damehood and widely cited influence in UK economic thinking.