Instacart taps Facebook VP as chief operating officer

Instacart, one of the most hotly anticipated IPOs in 2021, has tapped a product executive at Facebook to become its next chief operating officer.

Asha Sharma will become COO in mid-February and will report directly to Instacart founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta.

“Solving for the customer is at the core of everything we do at Instacart. We believe that our long-term success will be driven by creating products that exceed customer expectations at every touch point,” said Mehta. “To help achieve that, we’re welcoming an exceptional operator and entrepreneurial product leader in Asha Sharma to serve as our new chief operating officer.

As COO of Instacart, Sharma will oversee the Instacart Marketplace, which includes the Instacart app, logistics, growth and marketing. She’ll also focus on engaging new and returning customers.

“Instacart has become a fixture in our homes--one of the few products that are essential every single week in the flurry of life, including my own. I’m proud to join the team during such a pivotal time as Instacart continues to change the way people connect with the retailers they trust to get the groceries and goods they need,” Sharma said.

“I believe Instacart has only scratched the surface of what’s possible, and I look forward to working with Apoorva and the team as we focus on developing new experiences that deliver unparalleled value to customers,” she added.

Sharma joins Instacart from Facebook, where she was VP of product for many of the company’s private communications products across Facebook, Messenger and Instagram. She was previously COO of Porch, where she was responsible for the company’s operations, product, growth and marketing efforts. Prior to joining Porch, Sharma worked in marketing and operations at Microsoft.

Instacart is now the largest grocery platform in North America, delivering from more than 45,000 stores across nearly 600 national, regional and local retailers. Instacart has also become one of the most valuable private companies in the U.S. Instacart raised US$200 million in funding last year, valuing the startup at US$17.7 billion. Its IPO is highly anticipated in 2021.

Instacart today is available to 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households.

A version of this article appeared at ProgressiveGrocer.com.