Aitken Ascends to CEO at Dunnhumby

Less than a year after joining DunnhumbyUSA as its COO, Stuart Aitken has been named CEO of the Ohio-based consulting firm.

Hired in August 2009 as COO as DunnhumbyUSA christened its new Cincinnati headquarters, Aitken assumes the top spot from CEO Simon Hay.

“Working collaboratively, we’ve accomplished a great deal in the 10 months since I’ve been on board,” said Aitken. “We continue to be laser-focused on building Kroger’s customer-based strategy, growing our consumer packaged goods business globally and expanding our portfolio of retail clients, by putting the unrelenting voice of the customer at the heart of everything we do and applying those learnings into actionable strategies that affect our clients’ bottom lines.”

Since Aitken’s hiring, DunnhumbyUSA has expanded its partnership with Macy’s, established a New York office and made significant progress against the expansion of its consumer packaged goods client base. Aitken’s deep experience in loyalty programs, marketing, retail and grocery, as well as his previous work at Safeway Inc., have positioned him to lead DunnhumbyUSA’s continued exponential growth.

Through Dunnhumby’s joint venture partnership with the Kroger Co., which is also based in Cincinnati, Dunnhumby has helped the grocer focus on what matters most to its customers: good prices, a memorable shopping experience, the right products and great people. “Stuart’s keen sense of what matters most to customers is helping us strengthen our connection with our loyal shoppers,” said Kroger EVP Don Becker.

DunnhumbyUSA, a joint venture of the Kroger Co. and London-based Dunnhumby, also serves such companies as Tesco, Coca-Cola, General Mills and Procter & Gamble. For more information, visit www.dunnhumby.com.