Dive Brief:
- Instacart President Carolyn Everson, who joined the e-commerce company in September, wrote in a public Facebook post on Friday that she plans to leave the company at the end of the year.
- “Her departure was a mutual decision and not one that we took lightly. We believe it’s the right decision for both the company and Carolyn based on our priorities and the role she was looking for at this point in her career,” CEO Fidji Simo said in a statement.
- Everson’s announcement marks another high-profile departure from Instacart this year after its head of advertising, Seth Dallaire, left in the fall to become chief revenue officer at Walmart.
Dive Insight:
Instacart and Everson have tried to put a positive face on the executive’s departure, with both saying the exit was a mutual decision.
“Fidji and I have been friends for over 10 years and our relationship is grounded in respect and trust and we both agreed that this was the best decision for the company and for me personally,” Everson wrote on Facebook.
But the short tenure and abrupt departure from a key company role come as a setback for Instacart. The company is facing growing competition from delivery companies Uber and DoorDash along with upstarts like Gopuff. Instacart is also moving into new services like dark stores and smart carts while also trying to carefully manage its relationships with grocers, many of which are establishing their own e-commerce platforms.
Instacart didn’t say why Everson decided to leave the role. A memo cited by Ad Age and attributed to Ryan Mayward, Instacart’s vice president of ad sales, noted “a clear mismatch between our priorities and the role she wanted at this point in her career.” Mayward also reportedly echoed that Everson’s upcoming exit was a “mutual decision.”
When Instacart announced Everson’s appointment this summer, it positioned the hire as a boost to its digital ads division. Everson brought more than 30 years of experience across media, tech and advertising companies to the role, including serving as vice president of global marketing solutions at Facebook.
Instacart’s president, Carolyn Everson
Courtesy of Instacart
Everson was among a string of high-profile executive hires Instacart made this year, including several top-level hires from Facebook, like Simo and Chief Operating Officer Asha Sharma.
At Instacart, Everson oversaw the company’s retail, business development and advertising services as well as its legal, pickup and policy teams. Everson was set to work with Dallaire in developing CPG relationships, but then Dallaire left for Walmart in October.
“I believe in the company’s mission and the team, and am grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to Instacart’s growth,” Everson said in a statement. “I intend to take time to dream up what’s next.”
Nilam Ganenthiran, who was the president before Everson, became a strategic advisor to Simo to focus on strategies for long-term growth with retailers and advertisers. Instacart is not looking for a new president at this time.
