Instacart hires Fidji Simo, one of the highest-ranking female Facebook executives, as its new CEO

Grocery delivery startup app Instacart announced today it has hired Fidji Simo, one of the highest-ranking female Facebook executives, as its new CEO. Simo will succeed Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta on Aug. 2, and Mehta will transition to executive chairman of the board, according to the company announcement.

The 35-year old Simo is originally from France and she’s among the highest-ranking female executives at Facebook after COO Sheryl Sandberg and Chief Business Officer Marne Levine. She is currently the Head of Facebook App, where she leads the development and strategy for the Facebook App, including News Feed, Stories, Groups, Video, Marketplace, Gaming, News, Dating, Ads, and more.

Simo joined Facebook in 2011, and has been a core driver of Facebook’s mobile monetization strategy and led the team in charge of developing ad formats for mobile. She has also made video a critical part of the Facebook experience, from rolling out videos that autoplay in News Feed, to building and launching Facebook Live and Watch. In her most recent role, she led all Video, Games, and Monetization efforts across the Facebook App.

In addition, Instacart also announced Simo and Barry McCarthy, former Chief Financial Officer for both Spotify and Netflix, have joined the Company’s Board of Directors. McCarthy brings more than three decades of experience in business operations and management, finance, accounting, and corporate governance, the company said.

Prior to Facebook, Simo joined eBay in 2007, as part of the Strategy team. In addition to serving as a member of Instacart’s Board of Directors, Simo co-founded Women in Product, a non-profit to help women reach leadership positions in product management.

“We’re excited to welcome Fidji and Barry to our Board of Directors during this important time for Instacart as we continue to serve as a lifeline for millions of customers, more than 500,000 shoppers, and hundreds of retailers across North America,” Founder and CEO of Instacart Apoorva Mehta said.

Mehta added, “Fidji brings extensive experience developing mainstream, global products that are used by billions of people every day. Her passion and instincts for building products people love will be invaluable as Instacart continues to focus on creating the best online grocery shopping experience for customers. With Barry, we’re adding one of the brightest finance minds in the world to our Board. He has unparalleled insights on operational execution and building at-scale, sustainable businesses, and will be an important advisor as we focus on Instacart’s next chapter of growth.”

Founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta (a former Amazon employee), Brandon Leonardo, and Max Mullen, the San Francisco, California-based Instacart is a grocery startup that offers same-day grocery delivery service. Instacart has quickly scaled to over 220 markets and partnered with retailers across North America, including popular national chains (Albertsons, Kroger, Costco, Loblaw) as well as local, regional grocers (Publix, Wegmans, Schnucks, H-E-B).

We covered Instacart last month after the on-demand grocery delivery startup launched a $1 million fund to boost Black-owned consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands across its marketplace. As part of the new advertising initiative, Instacart said it will commit up to $1 million to amplify Black-owned CPG brands within the Instacart marketplace.