Instacart names Chris Rogers as new CEO after Fidji Simo joins OpenAI

Instacart is making a leadership change. The grocery delivery company announced Wednesday that Chris Rogers, its chief business officer, will take over as CEO starting August 15. He’ll also join the board.

Rogers steps into the role as Fidji Simo, who has led Instacart through a pivotal chapter, heads to OpenAI to lead its applications team. She’ll remain chair of the board to help with the transition.

The leadership change comes just over a year after Instacart laid off 250 employees, around 7% of its workforce, and less than six months after its public debut.

Simo didn’t mince words about where the company stands. “Over the last four years, we’ve transformed Instacart into a growing, profitable, leading technology platform that’s helping reshape the grocery industry,” she said in the announcement. “We’re building a generational company at the intersection of technology and food, and Chris is the right leader for our next chapter.”

Investors didn’t seem thrilled by the news. Instacart shares dipped about 2% in premarket trading, CNBC reported.

Simo’s move to OpenAI was announced earlier this month. She’ll report directly to Sam Altman and oversee a major part of the company’s future. “Fidji will focus on enabling our ‘traditional’ company functions to scale as we enter the next phase of growth,” Altman wrote at the time.

Simo joined Instacart in 2021 and helped steer the company through its public debut in 2023. That IPO marked the first major tech listing since the end of the 2021 bull run. During her tenure, Instacart proved it could hold onto the momentum it gained during the pandemic—and keep growing.

“There were a lot of questions about whether Instacart would be just another pandemic fad,” Simo told CNBC last year. “And we have now proven that we not only kept the Covid gains, but grew on top of the Covid gains and grew sustainably and profitably, which is really important.”

Chris Rogers, meanwhile, has been with the company since 2019. He started as VP of global retail and eventually took on the role of chief business officer. Before Instacart, he spent 11 years at Apple, including a stint as managing director of its Canada division. He started his career at Procter & Gamble and holds a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.

“We have a world-class team, deep partnerships, leading technology, and a bold vision for the future, and I’m honored to step in and lead Instacart’s next chapter,” Rogers said.

Instacart’s executive shuffle comes at a time when tech companies are still adjusting to a post-pandemic normal. For Instacart, it’s a bet that its next CEO can keep the momentum going, even without the lockdowns that helped boost it in the first place.

Instacart was founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta, Brandon Leonardo, and Max Mullen. Based in San Francisco, the company provides same-day grocery delivery and pickup. Since its launch, it has expanded into more than 220 markets, teaming up with national retailers like Albertsons, Kroger, and Costco, along with regional and local grocers including Publix and Wegmans.