Kroger (NYSE: KR) on Tuesday named Nate Faust, a former Walmart and startup executive, as chief e-commerce officer, effective Sept. 1, according to FreightWaves. New CEO Greg Foran has tasked Faust with shaking up the company's digital commerce business, the freight and logistics publication reported. Faust brings more than 20 years of experience building and scaling e-commerce businesses, Kroger said, which it believes will improve the online shopping experience and sales.
A career built on marketplaces and fulfillment
Faust co-founded Jet.com, a mass merchandise marketplace that Walmart acquired in 2016, FreightWaves reported. As Jet's chief operating officer, he led first-party merchandising, replenishment, fulfillment and customer service. He is also credited with launching the Smart Cart model, which rewarded customers with lower prices for shopping more efficiently.
At Walmart, Faust served as senior vice president of U.S. e-commerce supply chain, where he led a multi-year transformation of the customer delivery experience, according to a Kroger news release cited by FreightWaves. Earlier, at Diapers.com, he built what was considered a very fast fulfillment and delivery network for its time, offering free one-and-two-day shipping nationwide and same-day delivery in key markets.
| Company | Role | Key Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Jet.com | COO | Led merchandising, replenishment, fulfillment, customer service; launched Smart Cart |
| Walmart | SVP, U.S. e-commerce supply chain | Led multi-year transformation of delivery experience |
| Diapers.com | Executive | Built fast fulfillment network with free 1-2 day shipping and same-day delivery |
| Olive | Founder | Ran online shopping site supporting brands like Rent the Runway (2020-2023) |
After leaving Walmart, Faust founded Olive, an online shopping site that supported brands like Rent the Runway, and ran it from 2020 to 2023, FreightWaves reported. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University.
Nate built businesses that redefined what customers expect from eCommerce, built on speed, value and the experience of getting exactly what the customer ordered. — Greg Foran, Kroger CEO, as reported by FreightWaves
Foran, who was hired as CEO in February, worked with Faust at Walmart, where Foran spent nine years as CEO of China, Asia and then U.S. operations, according to FreightWaves.
Priorities for Kroger's digital commerce
E-commerce logistics expert Brittain Ladd praised the appointment on LinkedIn, writing that Foran is "raising the bar on talent" and "not protecting the status quo," according to FreightWaves. Ladd said Kroger has a massive e-commerce opportunity and that Faust can turn that opportunity into a reality.
FreightWaves reported that Ladd surmised Faust will focus on several initiatives, including leveraging a partnership with AI-powered logistics platform Nash aimed at replacing Instacart, DoorDash and Uber Eats with Kroger's own delivery capability. Ladd said that effort should also involve working with Autolane, which orchestrates autonomous vehicles for pickups, deliveries and rideshares, something Kroger's biggest competitors are already pursuing.
Kroger also has an opportunity to partner with restaurants and other retailers on a host of online pickup and delivery options, Ladd added. He further suggested Faust could turn Kroger's retail media into the engine that subsidizes delivery rather than a separate profit line. "Right now, ad revenue and delivery costs are managed as two different profit-and-loss categories," Ladd said, pointing to Amazon as an example of how ad revenue directly funds shipping.
Another priority, according to Ladd via FreightWaves, will be improving the strategic relationship with U.K.-based online grocery platform Ocado and testing purpose-built robots, likely from Blue Collar Robotics, to fulfill online orders from inside stores.
What marketplace and logistics partners should watch
For e-commerce logistics managers and marketplace operators, the appointment signals a push toward owned delivery infrastructure. Kroger's potential move to replace third-party delivery apps with its own capability through the Nash partnership could reshape how grocery fulfillment is contracted, according to the analysis Ladd shared with FreightWaves. The experimentation with autonomous vehicle orchestration via Autolane and in-store robot fulfillment via Blue Collar Robotics also points to automation entering the fulfillment layer.
The hire also brings a proven track record in marketplace operations: Faust's work at Jet.com involved running a mass merchandise marketplace, and his supply chain transformation at Walmart focused on delivery at scale. Kroger's statement, as reported by FreightWaves, said his experience will help improve the online shopping experience for customers and sales, underscoring the strategic weight of the role.
As Faust prepares to take the position, logistics and platform partners will be watching how Kroger's digital commerce strategy unfolds under his leadership, particularly the balance between third-party partnerships and internally controlled fulfillment.
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