Instacart is making leadership changes. The grocery delivery company announced Wednesday that CEO Chris Rogers will take over as CEO from August 15th. He will also be on the board of directors.
Rogers stepped into his role as Fidji Simo, who led Instacart through a vital chapter, heading to Openai to lead the application team. She will chair the board to help her transition.
The change in leadership comes in more than a year since Instacart fired 250 employees, about 7% of the workforce, and less than six months after its public debut.
Shimo didn’t write any words about the company’s position. “In the past four years, we have transformed Instacart into a major, growing, profitable technology platform that will help us rebuild the grocery industry,” she said in the announcement. “We’re building a generational company at the intersection of technology and food. Chris is the right leader for the next chapter.”
Investors don’t seem to be excited by the news. Instacart’s shares fell about 2% in pre-market trading, CNBC reported.
Simo’s move to Openai was announced earlier this month. She reports directly to Sam Altman and oversees most of the company’s future. “Fidji will focus on expanding the capabilities of ‘traditional’ companies as they enter the next stage of growth,” Altman wrote at the time.
Simo joined Instacart in 2021 and helped pilot the company through his public debut in 2023. The IPO marked its first major technology list since the end of the Bull Run in 2021. During his tenure, Instacart has proven that he can retain the momentum he gained during the pandemic and continue to grow.
“There have been a lot of questions about whether Instacart will become just another pandemic outbreak,” Simo told CNBC last year. “And now we are not only maintaining the interests of our community, but also growing on the interests of the co-fighting, and proven sustainable and profitable. This is really important.”
Meanwhile, Chris Rogers has been with the company since 2019. He started as Vice President of Global Retail and ultimately took on the role of Chief Business Officer. Prior to Instacart, he spent 11 years at Apple, including stint as Managing Director of Canada. He began his career at Procter & Gamble and earned a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.
“We have a world-class team, deep partnerships, key technologies and a bold vision for the future. We are honored to lead the next chapter of Instacart,” Rogers said.
Instacart’s executive shuffle comes when technology companies are still adapting to post-pandemic normality. For Instacart, it’s a gamble that the next CEO can continue to keep momentum going without the lockdown that helped boost it in the first place.
Instacart was founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta, Brandon Leonardo and Max Mullen. The San Francisco-based company offers same-day ecological groceries delivery and pickup. Since its launch, it has expanded to over 220 markets, partnering with national retailers such as Albertsons, Kroger and Costco, and working with local and local grocery stores such as Publix and Wegmans.
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