NEW YORK, NY – On the heels of the company’s IPO, Blue Apron is announcing major changes to the company’s executive leadership.
The company has announced that Tim Smith, formerly Vice President, Supply Chain, has been promoted to Senior Vice President and General Manager of the company’s newly-created Consumer Products division, while Pablo Cussatti, Senior Vice President of Operations, will also transition into a larger role with the company.
According to a press release, the newly-created Consumer Products general management team headed by Smith, will drive the innovation roadmap for Blue Apron’s consumer product portfolio, inclusive of its culinary, supply chain, packaging, and consumer insights functions. The new team is also expected to lead the company’s ongoing work to deliver more flexible, diverse, and personalized experiences for Blue Apron’s customers, building off its existing product portfolio.
“We recognize that everyone has varying needs and preferences when it comes to home cooking,” Smith said. “The goal of the Consumer Products team is to consistently deliver new and differentiated products under the strong Blue Apron brand we’ve built. We believe this will enable us to cater to more households, and in turn expand our community of passionate home cooks.”
Smith, who joined Blue Apron in August of 2016, brings more than 15 years of general management and supply chain development experience to his new role. Prior to Blue Apron, Smith served as General Manager for Emerging Brands Group, an incubator for on-trend, fast growing brands, at Tyson Foods.
Cussatti is a seasoned supply chain and manufacturing executive with extensive experience managing large-scale operations across the food industry including Pinnacle Foods, Campbell Soup, and PepsiCo.
Both Smith and Cussatti will report directly to Matt Salzberg, CEO, in their new capacities.
The company also announced that Matthew Wadiak, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, will be stepping down from that position and transitioning into a Senior Advisor role.
“As a co-founder and member of our executive leadership team, Matt Wadiak has played an instrumental role in driving forward Blue Apron’s mission to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone,” said Salzberg. “His contributions to the company have been immeasurable and we thank him for his unwavering dedication over the past five years.”
While some have linked these changes directly to "post-IPO jitters," as an ill-timed offering caused the company's stock to decline steeply in its first few weeks of trading, the company’s stock price has rebounded this week. Though the stock’s price has dropped nearly 40 percent since its initial offering, stocks jumped this week, and prices may be stabilizing amidst positive ratings from some analysts.
AndNowUKnow will continue to report with updates on the situation as they occur.
