Albertsons Makes 2 Hires for Digital Business

Albertsons Companies announced the hiring of two key digital leaders who will collectively add 30 years of digital leadership experience in product and digital technology, respectively. Karl Varsanyi, who helped develop macys.com into one of the largest e-commerce sites in the United States; and Ramiya Iyer, who was instrumental in building and scaling Levi Strauss & Co.'s platforms and analytic capabilities worldwide, will be joining the grocery store company.

Varsanyi joins Albertsons as the GVP of digital product management with responsibility for the digital experience (web, app and in-store) for all brands and locations. Iyer has been named GVP of IT digital and marketing/merchandising. She has a deep understanding of how digital technology is changing consumers’ shopping behavior, and she brings a unique combination of retail, technology and global leadership experience.

"After being relatively unaffected by digital for many years, the grocery industry is starting to see several parts of the customer journey being transformed by digital," said Narayan Iyengar, Albertsons senior vice president of digital marketing and e-commerce. "In this context, we need to continue to enhance our digital capabilities, and Karl and Ramiya will play a key role in this journey."

Together, these hires underscore Albertsons commitment to e-commerce. The grocery store chain has a highly popular just for U digital loyalty program, a rapidly growing e-commerce home delivery program, and a wide range of digital and data capabilities.