Sponsored By

Albertsons’ customer & digital chief Chris Rupp to depart

Ex-Microsoft, Amazon executive to join Victoria’s Secret

Russell Redman

July 15, 2022

3 Min Read
Albertsons_Market_Street_store_format_copy_0_0_5.jpg
In her more than two-and-a-half years at Albertsons, Rupp played a pivotal role in furthering the supermarket giant's digital transformation.Albertsons Cos.

Christine Rupp, chief customer and digital officer at Albertsons Co., plans to leave the supermarket giant to join specialty apparel retailer Victoria’s Secret & Co.

Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based Victoria’s Secret said this week that Rupp is coming to the company as chief customer officer. In the role, she will be charged with creating an omnichannel business, bringing brick-and-mortar store and digital commerce into a seamless shopping experience globally. She also will be accountable for sales and profitability across both channels.

“Chris is a transformational digital leader, with 30 years in the retail field, including deep data and e-commerce expertise,” Victoria’s Secret stated. “Chris joins VS&Co from Albertsons, where she is the chief customer and digital officer and has worked since 2019, dramatically expanding the loyal customer base and e-commerce distribution while improving the speed and cost of delivery. Prior to that, Chris was at Microsoft and Amazon, where she led Fulfillment by Amazon and launched Amazon Prime Day.”

Christine Rupp-Albertsons-portrait.pngVictoria’s Secret reported the hiring of Rupp (pictured left) on Tuesday in announcing a new corporate leadership structure. No start date was given, but Rupp’s LinkedIn page lists her Albertsons tenure as December 2019 to July 2022.

Related:Albertsons Cos. launches online product reviews

In an e-mail on Friday, Albertsons declined to comment on Rupp’s exit and a potential successor but referred to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month reporting her departure.

“On June 21, 2022, Christine Rupp, executive vice president and chief customer and digital officer of Albertsons Companies Inc., announced that she will be leaving the company effective July 31, 2022,” Albertsons stated in the SEC filing. “Ms. Rupp will stay on as an employee until July 31st to assist with the transition.”

At Albertsons, Rupp was tasked with leading Boise, Idaho-based company’s digital transformation, including the expansion of online grocery services and omnichannel shopping. When announcing her hiring in November 2019, Albertsons said she would oversee the integration and enhancement of the customer experiences across all digital touchpoints, accelerating e-commerce business and deepening customer relationships through loyalty programs, as well as assume responsibility for enterprise data strategy and data science capabilities.

Rupp joined Albertsons from Microsoft Corp., where she most recently had served as general manager of the Xbox Business Engineering team.

“Chris Rupp has already made a profound mark in retail. Customer-focused leaders of her caliber are a rare find in any industry,” Vivek Sankaran, president and CEO of Albertsons, commented at the time on Rupp’s hiring.

Related:Albertsons appoints new chief customer & digital officer

Indeed, Rupp brought a mix of retail, e-commerce and business innovation to Albertsons from nearly 30 years of experience in consumer-focused roles. She started her retail career at May Co. and soon after joined Sears, where she spent nearly 10 years in operations and merchandising. In 2005, Rupp took a position as a category manager with Amazon.com, managing the consumer-centric categories of wireless phones, computers and office electronics before being named vice president and general manager of Fulfillment by Amazon services in 2009. In 2014, she was named vice president of Prime, where she played a key role in developing the platform’s marketing, policies and member benefits across several countries.

In addition, Rupp was part of the team that created and launched the first Prime Day in July 2015, which has evolved into one of the world’s largest shopping events. She left Amazon.com in 2016 for Microsoft, where she took on the role of general manager, Microsoft, Windows and Xbox Digital Store Marketing and in April 2018 was promoted to general manager of Xbox Business Engineering.

The nation's second-largest supermarket retailer, Albertsons Cos. operates 2,276 food and drug stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia under such banners as Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like