Albertsons Cos. Enhancing Omnichannel with 2 New Digital Hires

The Albertsons Cos. has hired two digital experts with three decades of combined experience in product and digital technology.

Karl Varsanyi joins as GVP of digital product management, with responsibility for the digital experience – web, mobile app and in-store – for all brands and locations. A customer experience leader with 15 years of practice in the digital retail and technology industries, he has a strong track record of building new and innovative products, platforms, teams and cultures across digital and physical retail. His most recent success in this area was turning Cincinnati-based department store chain Macy’s into an omnichannel retailing leader as its GVP of product management, strategy and experience.

Ramiya Iyer joins as GVP of IT digital and marketing/merchandising. With a deep understanding of how digital technology is changing consumers’ shopping behavior, she brings a unique combination of retail, technology and global leadership experience. Previously, she was VP of ecommerce with San Francisco-based apparel brand Levi’s, and held various IT leadership roles at Walmart.com and SamsClub.com before that.

"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. In this context, we need to continue to enhance our digital capabilities, and Karl and Ramiya will play a key role in this journey," said Narayan Iyengar, SVP of digital marketing and ecommerce.

Iyengar himself joined the company in January with more than 20 years of ecommerce experience, most recently with The Walt Disney Co., based in Burbank, Calif., where he built, enhanced and optimized ecommerce capabilities across an ecosystem spanning 20 websites and apps.

"The addition of these leaders with diverse and rich retail experiences will position us to accelerate our efforts to having a differentiated digital experience for our customers," said Anuj Dhanda, EVP and CIO of Albertsons Cos.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos. operates stores across 35 states and Washington, D.C., under 19 banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs.

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