Executives on the Move: Qualcomm CEO pushes chips forward, Instacart lands new face

It may be summertime, but not everyone is out on vacation. This midpoint in the year is when C-suite executives review their company’s performance thus far and prepare goals for year-end. 

In our research, we’ve also identified those who are taking this time to move onward and upward. 

As Q3 begins, here’s a look at some of the most interesting executive changes of late: 

Instacart taps Facebook executive for CEO role

Instacart is hoping Fidji Simo can deliver the goods. The grocery pickup and delivery app is reportedly eyeing a long-awaited IPO, and it has named Simo its new CEO. 

Simo, who most recently served as head of Facebook’s app, will assume the CEO role in August after having joined Instacart’s board of directors in January. She replaces Instacart founder and current CEO Apoorva Mehta, who will remain with the company as executive chairman. 

“[Simo] was also at Facebook during its transition from a private company to the public market and understands what it takes to lead and scale a transformational company like Instacart. I believe that with [Simo] at the helm we'll be in an even stronger position to seize the incredible opportunity in front of us," Mehta said in a release. 

Simo spent four years at eBay before joining Facebook in 2011, where she worked in various product roles. She was a prominent leader at the company, known as a dynamic leader who grew up in a fishing family in southern France. She was profiled in Marie Claire in 2019, in which she discussed the effort to remedy Facebook’s shaky reputation. 

Instacart has faced similar grumbling in the public eye in recent years, along with other gig economy apps such as Uber, for its push for Proposition 22, which classified gig workers not as employees, but as independent contractors. Simo discussed the company’s overall mission in a LinkedIn post. 

“Leaving behind the privilege of leading the Facebook app is very hard, and I would only do so for the chance to be part of building an epic company again,” Simo wrote. “During the last seven months on the board of Instacart, I fell in love with the incredible mission of giving people access to food.”

A new era begins at Qualcomm

Wireless chipmaker Qualcomm is looking to make a splash with its new CEO, Cristiano Amon, who has the company’s sights set on Apple. 

Amon, an electrical engineer by trade, has held executive roles at Qualcomm since 2007, most recently serving as president. He is known for driving the company’s 5G strategy and helping the company expand into other markets, such as IoT devices. He is also co-chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Global IoT Council. Qualcomm announced he would be taking on the CEO role in January. 

After taking the top job, Amon told Reuters he believes the company will have a chip that can help laptop producers take on Apple by 2022. Apple has been designing chips with the intention of replacing Qualcomm products in its 5G-enabled iPhones. Recently, Qualcomm has been adapting to growing Android smartphone demand. 

Anheuser-Busch InBev elevates first new CEO in 15 years

Meet the new king of beers. Major brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, manufacturer of beer brands such as Budweiser and Stella Artois, recently promoted Michel Doukeris to the chief executive position, effective July 1, according to a company press release. He replaced longtime CEO Carlos Brito, who stepped down after serving in the role for 15 years and for more than three decades at the company. 

Doukeris recently led the company’s North America division and has also served in other leadership roles in the Latin America and Asia markets. He has been with the company since 1996. He holds master’s degrees in both chemical engineering and business administration.

The transition comes after a topsy-turvy couple years for Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company navigated substantial uncertainty with bars and restaurants on lockdown during the pandemic.  The company recently reported a first-quarter earnings beat and closed a major merger with Craft Brew Alliance. Things are looking up for the company, provided reopening continues to go as planned. 

More executives on the move…

• Rafael Acevedo is now CMO, Dunkin', Inspire Brands, Inc.
• Judson Althoff is now EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, Microsoft Corporation.
• Scott Bomar is now SVP and CFO, Deluxe Corporation.
• Michael Bopp is now EVP and Chief Growth Officer, Synchrony Financial.
• Fabrizio Campelli is now Member, Management Board, Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank AG.
• William Carroll is now SVP, Finance and Controller, Delta Air Lines, Inc.
• David Chapdelaine is now Director, Architecture and Platforms, CAE Inc.
• John Church is now Chief Transformation and Enterprise Services Officer, General Mills Inc.
• Jean-Philippe Courtois is now EVP and President, National Transformation Partnerships, Microsoft Corporation.
• John Culver is now Group President, North America and COO, Starbucks Corporation.
• Nicholas Darwall-Smith​ is now SVP, IT, Clinical Development, PAREXEL International Corporation.
• Robert Davis is now President and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc.
• Lynn DeHart is now VP, Digital Finance Solutions and Transformation, Pfizer Inc.
• Alexis DePree is now EVP and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Nordstrom, Inc.
• Cathy Desquesses is now Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd.
• Susan Diamond is now CFO, Humana Inc.
• Curtis Dinan is now SVP and COO, ONE Gas, Inc.
• Heather Dixon is now CFO, Everside Health, Inc.
• Hafize Erkan is now President and Co-CEO, First Republic Bank.
• Carrie Fernandez is now VP, Engineering, Twitter, Inc.
• Devkumar Ganguly is now EVP and COO, Jackson National Life Insurance Company.
• Gary Genik is now Interim President and CEO, Meridian Credit Union Limited.
• Alexis George is now CEO, CEO (effective August 2, 2021), AMP Limited.
• Sukhbinder Gill is now VP, Fellow and CTO, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), DXC Technology Company.
• Jay Gilmore is now SVP, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller, Denny's Corporation.
• Steven Gray is now Director, CEA Operations, NICE Ltd.
• Anthony Gregory is now VP, Market Development, GM Cruise LLC.
• Kevin Hanes is now CEO, Cybrary, Inc.
• Robert Hermans is now President and CEO, IPCO AB.
• David Heppner is now SVP, Strategy Business Development, Marathon Petroleum Corporation.
• Andrew Holzapfel is now Managing Partner, High Lantern Group.
• Mark Hoyt is now CFO, Loadsmart, Inc.
• Ursula Hurley is now Head, Treasury & Investor Relations and Acting CFO, JetBlue Airways Corporation.
• Andrew Iacobucci is now Chief Commercial Officer, US Foods, Inc.
• Daniel Janki is now EVP and CFO, Delta Air Lines, Inc.
• Nasrollah Jazayeri is now EVP and General Manager, Public Sector, Salesforce.com Inc.
• Neeti Johnson is now President, Global Risk Solutions, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
• Carol Juel is now EVP, Chief Technology and Operating Officer, Synchrony Financial.
• Jay Kerley is now SVP, Enterprise Enablement Group and CIO, Applied Materials, Inc.
• Christopher Kubasik is now CEO, L3Harris Technologies Inc.
• Marne Levine is now Chief Business Officer, Facebook, Inc.
• Jeffrey Likosar is now CFO and President, Corporate Development, ADT Inc.
• Kristen Ludgate is now Chief People Officer, HP Inc.
• James MacPhee is now President, Global Retail Markets, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
• Brent McLean is now Chief Product and Technology Officer, Adevinta ASA.
• Raman Mehta is now SVP and CIO, Johnson Electric Holdings Ltd.
• Jason Mock is now COO and Head, Digital Operations, Wells Fargo & Company.
• Joseph Morrissey is now EVP and Head, Manufacturing and Supply, Organon & Co.
• Andreas Müller is now Chief Expert, Communication Technologies, Internet of Things (IoT), Robert Bosch GmbH.
• Tien-Anh Nguyen is now Chief Business Officer, UserTesting, Inc.
• Pierce Norton is now President and CEO, ONEOK Inc.
• Jennifer Olsen is now CMO, Caleres, Inc.
• James Palmer is now Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.
• Simon Power is now Acting CEO, Westpac Banking Corporation.
• Stephen Priest is now CFO, eBay Inc.
• Kathleen Quirk is now President and CFO, Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
• R. Adam Ray is now EVP, Sales Operations and Planning, Charter Communications, Inc.
• Paul Richardson is Senior EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer, Walt Disney Company.
• Stéphane Roche is now VP and COO, CAE Healthcare, Inc.
• Christopher Rogers is now Deputy CIO and Chief Security Officer, Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated.
• Thomas Rosamilia is now SVP, Cloud and Cognitive Software, IBM Corporation.
• Tanja Rueckert is now Chief Digital Officer, Robert Bosch GmbH.
• Carlos Servin is now Chief Cost Optimization Officer, Hyundai Motor America, Hyundai Motor Company. 
• Mark Shamber is now CFO, HERBL Distribution Solutions, Inc.
• Jennifer Saenz is now EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer, Albertsons Companies, Inc.
• Eve Saltman is now SVP, Corporate and Business Development, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, GoPro, Inc.
• John Smith is now President and CEO, FedEx Ground, FedEx Corporation.
• Thomas Sohmers is now Strategic Technical Advisor, Groq Inc.
• Michael Speetzen is now CEO, Polaris Inc.
• Barton Sponchia is now EVP, Global Operations, TAM International, Inc.
• Stanton Sugarman is now Chief Customer Officer, GAIA AG.
• Sean Tanner is now, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Business Operations, Sabre Corporation.
• Stephen Wood is now EVP and CFO, Conduent Inc.
• Donald Young is now EVP and COO, ADT Inc.
• Timothy Youngblood is now SVP, CSO and Product Security Officer, T-Mobile US, Inc.
• Karen Zhong is now Managing Director and Risk Officer, Life & Retirement, American International Group, Inc.

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