Katherine Pickering

Focus on setting and reporting on sustainability strategy required for Amazon to deliver its public sustainability commitments across all regions including North America, EMEA and APAC.

• Established sustainability funds of $120M per year, along with robust decision-making framework, financial guardrails and portfolio governance.
• Delivered first ever Carbon Footprint Assurance for Amazon Worldwide Operations, supporting the detailed carbonation of $94.1bn costs and feeding into the external regulatory audit conducted by Ernst & Young.
• Drove investments for EU rooftop solar and purchase of 190 long-haul electric vehicles, with combined value of $120M, saving 852K tCO2e.
• Set standard for Carbon Planning and Reporting, successfully consolidating 38 business units globally that account for 40MMT CO2 emissions and $2BN.
• Defined 2040 glidepath that will drive significant reduction in 2040 carbon emissions, saving $1.2BN in carbon offsets.

Working with senior leaders to bring clarity to end-to-end impact of strategic initiatives across customer metrics such as Sustainability, Speed, Distance, Placement and Consolidation.

• Set financial targets and developed ‘Value of Speed' framework to collaboratively drive air network reduction that delivers $150MM+ savings pa, with no negative customer impact.
• Raised return on investment required for new Speed investments to deliver $180MM absolute savings.
• Developed detailed financial model to demonstrate true benefit associated with consolidating customer orders. By driving more granular analysis, and focus on fixed v variable costs, model resulted in 49% decrease in value ($104MM to $53MM per 0.01 uplift in units per box), which was rolled out across business as single global methodology.
• Established Global DEI Committee and successfully delivering against Q1 targets including rolling out Inclusivity training to 800 team members and launching quarterly DEI survey.

Building a material portfolio and pipeline of innovation and third-party partnership opportunities in support of the business strategy, and galvanizing teams across the business to execute.

• Designed and launched first rental service for children's clothing via partnership with rental start-up ‘thelittleloop'.
• Led development and proposal of catering strategy across 34 own-brand sites and 22 concession sites, designed to balance affordability with customer experience.
• Developed buy/build/partner framework to simplify complex and accelerate decision making, including for Home Interiors business.

Leading Finance team for John Lewis Services business (£250m turnover, £30m profit) and Innovation unit, JLP Ventures (£12m investment fund). Oversight of all Finance related activities – commercial, strategic, FP&A and financial control, ensuring appropriate linkage to central functions to optimise efficiency and standardisation, with focus on delivering commercially viable services and digital innovation to customers.

• Launched start-up incubator for entrepreneurial partners designed to introduce new partners to business.
• Leveraged best practice innovation finance practices to develop JLP Ventures portfolio management framework, enabling swift, data driven decisions on starting 7 new propositions and stopping another 3.
• Led acquisition of Opun, home improvement start-up acquired by John Lewis Plc in 2018 and advising Opun Executive Board.
• Created new reporting suite for John Lewis Services business. Applying analytics and non-financial KPIs that drove 57% year-on-year growth in Financial Services.

Management of £340m John Lewis central costs budget including Pay, travel, training, IT, consultancy fees, depreciation. Regular reporting to Board to support and inform decision making.

Clients included WPP, Nestle, M&S, Church shoes, Thomas Pink, LVMH, Jesire, Starbucks.