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Hello, welcome to the best of today podcast. I'm Sean Farrington and in my latest sit down

with some of Britain's biggest business names, I caught up with Dame Sharon White, chairman

of the John Lewis Partnership. We met on Heat Wave Day when London's temperatures were

well over 40 degrees, So in an attempt to avoid

the hum of the aircon that couldn't be turned off, we took to the small bit of shade on the

roof of John Lewis headquarters, if you're wondering why you can hear the occasional Siegel and

siren. We talked about Dame Sharon's concerns about the number of people who've left the world

of work and the long-term impact that can have on prices,

a focus on those who grew up in care and are looking for a career,

and of course how one of our most famous retailers navigates a cost of living crisis rarely seen before.

Right, I wasn't expecting to be on the rooftop of the John Lewis partnership.

Welcome.

At what point did you, Sharon, think you were going to be on the rooftop of John Lewis' partnership?

Oh my goal.

So I was Chief Executive of Offcom.

I was running the media and telecoms regulator having been in the public sector for almost 30 years.

And I have to say, rather surprising, I got a phone call from a head hunter.

It must have been January 2019.

You know, saying, you know, hi Sharon, you know, hope you're well, we're recruiting for the chairman

of the John Lewis Partnership.

And I said, oh, that's all very interesting and I assume you've got the wrong number because

...