Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta to leave company

Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta plans to step down as executive chairman and hand the chairperson’s reins to CEO Fidji Simo.

Plans call for Mehta to exit the board of directors once Instacart becomes a public company, the San Francisco-based online delivery giant said Friday. At that time, Simo will take his place as chairman of the board.

In May, Instacart announced that it filed confidential S-1 draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue an initial public offering. Instacart gave no comment on the confidential IPO filing, but a Bloomberg report at the time said Instacart was working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on an IPO, and the company’s public launch could happen this year.

Simo has served as Instacart’s CEO since Aug. 2, 2021, when Mehta shifted to the role of executive chairman. A Facebook executive, Simo had joined Instacart’s board of directors in January.

Instacart is the nation’s largest third-party grocery delivery provider, and the company partners with over 800 retailers in North America, including in a range of other retail segments.

“Instacart has been my life’s work for more than a decade. Since I transitioned from CEO to executive chairman a year ago, I realized that I want to pursue a new mission and I want to do it with the same singular focus that I had while building Instacart. Stepping off the board will allow me to do just that,” Mehta said in a statement. “We have a high-caliber leadership team with Fidji at the helm, and I’m excited about her vision for the company and the expanded role Instacart can play for retailers for years to come. I remain confident in the enormous opportunity ahead and will always be a supporter of the team and company.”

Related:Instacart announces five C-suite appointments

Instacart noted that Simo has “charted a new chapter for the company” since taking the CEO reins, focusing on its role as an enablement platform as retailers engage in digital transformations. Recent efforts under her tenure include an upgraded subscription service with the new Instacart program, a personal shopper rewards program called Cart Star, the launch of the Instacart Platform enterprise-grade solutions suite and the acquisition of “smart” shopping cart maker Caper.

“Apoorva realized more than a decade ago that grocery delivery was a core consumer need. He worked tirelessly with the team to create and build a successful model that allows consumers to access same-day delivery from their favorite grocers. We’re incredibly grateful to Apoorva for his commitment to growing Instacart and building something revolutionary,” Simo stated. “As CEO and future chair, I look forward to working alongside our retail partners to shape the next decade of grocery's evolution. We'll do this by building on Instacart’s already strong foundation and putting our technology in the hands of our partners so we can invent the future of grocery together.”

Related:Instacart takes step toward IPO

The nation’s largest third-party grocery delivery provider, Instacart partners with more than 800 national, regional and local retailers in North America and provides online shopping, delivery and pickup from more than 70,000 stores in over 5,500 cities, reaching more than 85% of U.S. households and about 90% of Canadian households.

“Apoorva created a company that is transforming the grocery industry. His hard work and dedication brought Instacart into the homes of millions of customers. He poured his heart and soul into Instacart, and we thank him enormously for everything he has done for the company,” Instacart board member Jeff Jordan commented. “Since Fidji joined last year as CEO, she has ushered in a new chapter for Instacart. Fidji’s role as CEO and future chair is a testament to the board's unwavering confidence in her strategic vision for Instacart. I am extremely optimistic about the company’s future.”