Albertsons, Walmart veteran joins PetSmart C-suite
A major pet supplies retailer has added a merchandising veteran to its C-suite.
PetSmart has named Jesica Duarte as its new executive VP and chief commercial officer. In this role, Duarte will oversee merchandising, proprietary brands, merchandise planning & allocation, digital, and marketing organizations at PetSmart.
Duarte has more than 30 years of experience in the retail, grocery, beauty and food & beverage industries. Most recently, she spent four years at Albertsons Companies in a variety of roles, including group VP of national merchandising.
“Jesica is a strategic and growth-minded leader, with an impressive career tenure working across successful retail brands” said Ken Hicks, PetSmart president and CEO. “She has led teams through significant business and process transformations, while delivering strong business results and her expertise will be invaluable as we work to advance our long-range plan.”
Duarte’s resume also includes a more than 11 year stint at Walmart, where she held several VP positions, in addition to serving as chief merchandising & marketing officer for Walmart Chile. Her prior experience includes merchandising and marketing roles at Molson Coors Beverage Company, Beam Suntory, Estee Lauder and J.C. Penney.
“This is an exciting time at PetSmart, and I’m thrilled to be joining this impressive team at such a pivotal time in the business,” said Duarte. “PetSmart has such a special and unique community of associates, pet parents and pets who all share the same passion and I’m looking forward to being a part of that. I’m equally pleased to bring together my own passions for merchandising, marketing and meeting customers where they are with omnichannel capabilities and to contribute to the work being done to make PetSmart the favorite pet retailer.”
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Headquartered in Phoenix, PetSmart operates nearly 1,700 stores across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
