BENTONVILLE, AR - To keep up with big e-commerce competitor Amazon, Walmart nabbed the former executive behind Tesco’s successful grocery delivery venture to man its own online grocery helm. Simon Belsham is succeeding Liza Landsman as President of Walmart-owned Jet.com, effective March 26, 2018, according to Reuters.

“In my view, there is no business better positioned to take advantage of the opportunity ahead than the combination of Walmart and Jet,” Belsham said in a statement.

Prior to joining Walmart and Jet, Belsham most recently worked as Chief Executive Officer of Notonthehighstreet.com; spent seven years at Tesco focusing on bringing its online grocery operation to Britain as well as ten markets across central Europe and Asia; and developed a general merchandise platform for Ocado.

“With Jet grocery being an integral part of the strategy, Simon brings incredible experience in scaling grocery delivery and his unique background in converging technology and retail,” Marc Lore, President and CEO of Walmart eCommerce U.S., said in an email to Jet employees.

In his new role, Belsham will be tasked with differentiating Jet from its parent brand and continuing Lore’s push to offer consumers specialty goods not found with competitors.

Along with hiring Belsham, Walmart is also in the midst of broadening its online grocery business, which this year alone has included expanding home delivery to 100 U.S. cities.

Will Walmart’s latest hire give the retailer a leg up over its competition? AndNowUKnow will continue to report as the story unfolds.

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