Blue Apron Appoints Linda Findley Kozlowski as President and Chief Executive Officer
NEW YORK CITY, NY - If you're one to keep up with our industry's stock market, you might have noticed a jump in meal kit provider Blue Apron's this week. According to a report by Markets Insider, the company's shares were up 7.3 percent on Wednesday, April 3—but why? One assumption is that shareholders could be responding positively to Blue Apron's newly-appointed CEO and President, Linda Findley Kozlowski, who will assume the role on April 8, 2019.
“This is an exciting time to join Blue Apron,” said Kozlowski. “Over the past year, the company has made significant product, platform, and operational advancements, and now has the right foundation for growth. I look forward to working closely with the team to focus on the best opportunities to attract and engage consumers and drive the business to new levels of performance.”
Kozlowski has 25 years of experience with innovative, consumer-focused companies and is known in the biz as an accomplished e-commerce executive. Most recently, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Etsy, in which she was responsible for product, marketing, customer engagement, and acquisitions. Prior to that, she served as COO of Evernote Corporation, in which she oversaw worldwide operations, managed cross-functional teams across seven countries and led the successful launch of the company’s multi-tier pricing strategy. She also worked for Alibaba.com as its Director of Global Marketing and Customer Experience. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications and Journalism from Elon College and a Master of Arts in Journalism and Public Relations from UNC-Chapel Hill.
“We are incredibly excited to have an executive of Linda's caliber as Blue Apron's next CEO,” said Matt Salzberg, Chairman of Blue Apron’s Board of Directors. “Linda’s exceptional leadership and marketing expertise, as well as her understanding of Blue Apron customers as a long-time customer herself, will help her advance the company towards sustainable, profitable growth.”
Robert Goodman, Lead Independent Director, added, “We congratulate Linda on her appointment and look forward to working with her to build upon the strong foundation for future growth that is now in place.”
The news of Kozlowski's new title also comes with the announcement that Brad Dickerson, who has served as Blue Apron's CEO and President since November 2017, was resigning to pursue new opportunities. Dickerson first joined Blue Apron as its Chief Financial Officer in February of 2016. According to a press release, Dickerson will remain as an advisor to the meal kit provider for a short period of time to assist with the transition. Blue Apron also asserted that Dickerson has left the company well-positioned strategically.
“Blue Apron has reached an important point in the company’s history, highlighted by a clear path towards adjusted EBITDA profitability and a sharpened focus on the strongest opportunities for the business, and the Board and I believe this is an appropriate time to transition to a new leader who can optimize for growth,” said Dickerson. “I am proud of the great things our team has accomplished and am confident that with Linda as CEO, Blue Apron will implement the appropriate strategies tocreate value for all of its stakeholders.”
Blue Apron is also saying goodbye to one of its Co-Founders this week, as Ilia Papas revealed he will also be resigning from the Chief Technology Officer role. His last day will be May 3, 2019.
“On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Brad for his leadership, and for the progress the team has achieved in the past year, including in driving operational optimization, realizing meaningful margin expansion, and evolving the company’s product portfolio and channel strategy,” said Salzberg. “I'd also like to thank my Co-Founder Ilia for all of his contributions over the past 7 years, particularly in developing Blue Apron's technology infrastructureand capabilities as our Chief Technology Officer. We wish both Brad and Ilia the best with their future pursuits.”
Will Linda Findley Kozlowski help turn Blue Apron around and get it back to the top of the meal kit game? AndNowUKnow will continue to report.
