Kroger names new head of ecommerce with experience from Walmart and Jet.com

The Kroger Co. hired a new executive to oversee its ecommerce operations, and the move will bring two decades of experience to an important role for the grocer.

Nate Faust will formally take on the position of executive vice president and chief ecommerce officer at Kroger as of Sept. 1, the company announced. His appointment comes more than a year after Kroger established a new ecommerce business unit within its organization, run by its chief digital officer.

Kroger ranks No. 7 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 2000 Database. The database ranks North America’s largest online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales. Kroger is No. 1 in the database’s Food & Beverage category. Digital Commerce 360 projects that Kroger online sales will reach $17.84 billion in 2026.

Kroger is also No. 508 in Digital Commerce 360’s all-new AI Rankings. That set of rankings is available in the Top 1000 Pro with AI Database.

Kroger web sales by year

Who is Kroger’s new head of ecommerce?

Faust arrives at Kroger after most recently founding and running the logistics startup Olive. However, he has also been an active investor and advisor in the intervening time before joining Kroger. Kroger CEO Greg Foran said he was “thrilled” to welcome Faust to the Cincinnati-based company.

“Nate built businesses that redefined what customers expect from ecommerce, built on speed, value and the experience of getting exactly what the customer ordered,” Foran noted. “That is the standard we are holding ourselves to as we grow our digital business.”

Previously, Faust served as senior vice president in charge of ecommerce supply chain operations at Walmart U.S. He came to Walmart when the retailer acquired Jet.com, which he had co-founded, in 2016. In addition, his experience extends back to time on the executive team at Diapers.com.

Why Faust is joining Kroger

Faust follows Foran, who became Kroger’s CEO in February, having also spent time at Walmart, where their time overlapped.

“Kroger has deep customer relationships, unmatched loyalty data and a footprint that puts us closer to customers,” Faust said in Kroger’s announcement. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work alongside Greg again and build on that strong foundation, continuing to improve the customer experience in this fast-growing part of the business.”

He will join Kroger at an important time for its online grocery business. The retailer has expanded its work with last-mile delivery services such as DoorDash, Instacart and Uber Eats over the past year, building out partnerships in a competitive landscape for online grocery sales.

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