Ian Alexander, finance director and deputy chairman of John Lewis Partnership, which owns the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarket group, died suddenly on Sunday after a week of feeling unwell.

Sir Stuart Hampson, chairman of the partnership, was "terribly shocked" by Alexander's death. "The Partnership has been deprived of a highly talented and committed colleague. We are all terribly shocked and saddened by Ian's sudden and unexpected death and our thoughts go out to his family and friends," he said in a statement. With Sir Stuart Hampson possibly stepping down within a few years, speculation of his successor is rising. The Financial Times reports that the most obvious candidates are Charlie Mayfield, head of John Lewis department stores, and Steve Esom, head of Waitrose.