May 28 (UPI) — Instacart named Chris Rogers as its new CEO Wednesday, weeks after CEO Fidju Simo announced her departure for OpenAI.
The grocery delivery company appointed Rogers, who had served as chief business officer, as its new top executive less than a month after it was revealed Simo would move over to OpenAI as its head of applications.
“Over the last four years, we’ve transformed Instacart into a growing, profitable, leading technology platform that’s helping reshape the grocery industry,” Simo stated in a release.
Rogers will start his new role on August 15 and likewise will join Instacart’s board of directors.
Instacart took off during the COVID-19 pandemic as shoppers and drivers delivered groceries to U.S. consumers at home in more than 5,500 American cities, but despite success cut roughly 7% of its staff last year in February to keep up with competition and rising costs.
Meanwhile, Instacart stock shares on Wednesday were reportedly flat.
Simo, who helped lead Instacart to its 2023 IPO, said it’s a “generational company” that is “at the intersection of technology and food” and called Rogers the “right leader” for the company’s next chapter.
“Instacart sits at the center of how people shop, eat, and care for their families — and that’s always been what inspires me most about our mission,” Rogers commented, adding that by working with partners, “we’re transforming the future of grocery shopping, but more importantly, we’re helping people solve real, everyday needs.”
According to the company, Simo will stay as board chair to “smooth the transition.”
Simo joined OpenAI’s board last year and it was announced this month Simo was hired to run its application team reporting directly to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who previously said Simo will “focus on enabling our ‘traditional’ company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth.”
Rogers, who sits as a board member on the U.S. Ad Council, began his career at Procter and Gamble.
He joined Instacart in 2019 after over 10 years at Apple where he later served as Apple Canada’s managing director and graduated with a bachelor degree in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.
“We have a world-class team, deep partnerships, leading technology and a bold vision for the future,” the incoming Instacart CEO continued.
“And I’m honored to step in and lead Instacart’s next chapter,” Rogers says.
