Albertsons Companies announces key digital hires that bring a collective 30 years of digital leadership experience

BOISE, Idaho, May 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Albertsons Companies today announced 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 eCommerce sites in the United States; and Ramiya Iyer, who was instrumental in building and scaling Levi Strauss & Co.'s platforms and analytic capabilities worldwide.

"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 Company 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 Chief Information Officer.

Together, these additions underscore Albertsons Companies' commitment to eCommerce leadership in the grocery industry with proven experience building winning digital strategies around well-known brands. The company is an established leader in digital marketing & eCommerce, with a highly popular just for U^® digital loyalty program, a rapidly growing eCommerce home delivery program, and wide range of digital and data capabilities. 

Karl Varsanyi joined Albertsons Companies as the GVP of Digital Product Management with responsibility for the digital experience (web, app, and in-store) for all brands and locations. Karl is a customer experience leader with 16 years of practice in the digital retail and technology industries. He has a strong track record of building new innovative products, platforms, teams and cultures across digital and physical retail, having most recently turned Macy's into an omnichannel retailing leader as its GVP of Product Management, Strategy and Experience.

Ramiya Iyer joined Albertsons Companies as the 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. Prior to her tenure as the VP of eCommerce at Levi's, she held various IT leadership roles at Walmart.com and SamsClub.com.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. We operate stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia under 19 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs. Albertsons Companies is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2016 alone, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the company gave nearly $300 million in food and financial support. These efforts helped millions of people in the areas of hunger relief, education, cancer research and treatment, programs for people with disabilities and veterans outreach.

Contact: Christine Wilcox
208-395-4163
[email protected]

SOURCE Albertsons Companies

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