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Fidji Simo, the leader of Facebook’s eponymous app, said Thursday that he is leaving the social network to become CEO of Instacart, an on-demand grocery startup set to become a publicly traded company.
Ms. Simo, 35, will take effect immediately, replacing 34-year-old Apoorva Mehta, founder and CEO of Instacart. Mr. Mehta will become chairman of the board of Instacart.
“I’m excited to work with the talented teams at Instacart and our retail partners to reimagine the future of the grocery store,” Ms Simo said in a statement.
Mehta said in a statement that Instacart will remain engaged with its business and will “partner with Fidji in long-term and strategic moves that will shape the future of Instacart and our industry for years to come.”
Ms. Simo, who is French, spent ten years at Facebook, where she rose from a product marketing role to the head of the “big blue app.” Prior to that, Ms. Simo worked as a strategist at eBay. He graduated from the HEC School of Management in Paris and joined Instacart’s board earlier this year.
For Instacart, the appointment of Ms. Simo marks another step towards potentially becoming a public company.
Instacart makes money by selling subscriptions to its on-demand grocery service and through associated fees. However, it wants to grow its advertising business with brands looking to promote their products to customers on the platform. Ms. Simo worked in Facebook’s advertising business and helped develop parts of the company’s mobile advertising.
“We are grateful for Fidji’s incredible leadership over the past decade and wish him the best in his next endeavor,” said Facebook spokesman Tom Williams.
Tom Alison, head of product and engineering at Facebook, will take over the day-to-day operations of the Facebook app until the end of July. CNBC previously reported On Miss Simo’s departure from Facebook.
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