Instacart Shuffles Exec Lineup

As it preps for the future – and perhaps an IPO? – Instacart is making changes to its senior leadership. The grocery tech company is elevating several executives and tweaking some of its business areas.

The changes, shared on Instacart’s website – include the following:

• Chris Rogers, VP of retail and an Apple vet, has been appointed chief business officer. In this expanded role, he will continue to oversee all retail functions and take on leadership of the brand partnerships team as those units become more aligned. Since joining Instacart, he has expanded the number of retail partnerships from 300 to 800.
• Following the impending departure of Mark Schaaf as the company’s first chief technology officer, Instacart has promoted VP of engineering Varouj Chitilian to CTO. Among other accomplishments, Chitilian led Instacart’s engineering team to reach several technical milestones and to evolve and enhance the Instacart app.
• Also in the engineering function, JJ Zhuang has been tapped for the newly-created role of chief architect. Zhuang, who previously served as head of infrastructure for Instacart, among other roles, will drive technology and architecture decisions across all of the company’s pillars.
• Following his rapid success since joining the company in 2021, Dan Danker is Instacart’s new chief product officer. He is credited with expanding the company's slate of offerings, including the launch of  Instacart+ and Instacart Platform and Priority Delivery; he also recently launched the Cart Star program for shoppers.
• Laura Jones is moving up to chief marketing officer, recognized for her leadership in improving unaided brand awareness and more efficient marketing spends. She also helped roll out Instacart's new master brand and spearheaded the company’s inaugural national brand campaign, among other accomplishments since coming onboard at Instacart last year.

In its company update published this week, San Francisco-based Instacart noted that the leadership moves will set up its teams for success at a pivotal time: “The growth of our leadership team is a testament to our expanded vision as a retail enablement platform and grocery technology company, and we’re excited to see these leaders and our teams drive even more value for our partners, customers and shoppers as we look ahead.”