Paula Margaret Nickolds (born February 1973) is a British businesswoman. From January 2017 until January 2020, she was the managing director of the John Lewis department store chain.^[1]

Nickolds was born in February 1973.^[2] Her father, Clive Nickolds, was a senior director at Marks & Spencer, and head of its international operations.^[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Southampton,^[1] and attended St Helen's School where she spent hours in the pool as a keen member of the swimming team.^[3]

In 1994, Nickolds joined John Lewis as a graduate trainee at their Oxford Street flagship store.^[1] In January 2017, she succeeded Andy Street as managing director of John Lewis; she thereby became the first woman to hold this position in the company's 153-year history.^[1]

She unexpectedly left the company in January 2020, along with two of John Lewis' most senior, long serving executives, just as it looked to navigate a radical overhaul to merge its grocery and department store businesses.^[4]

In May 2021, it was announced that she has been appointed by Sainsbury's to run its £7.8bn clothing and general merchandise arm, putting her head-to-head with her former employer John Lewis.^[5]

In January 2024, it was announced that she was leaving Sainsbury's to become chief executive at The White Company, starting at the end of March.^[6]