LivingSocial takes health care turn
Former Sears and Walgreens finance executive Atul Kavthekar is joining LivingSocial as CFO to help execute the e-commerce company’s ongoing re-invention strategy.
Washington, D.C.-based LivingSocial has sought to pivot away from its origins as a daily deals site and more of an e-commerce platform positioned as, “the local marketplace to buy and share the best things to do in your city and beyond.” The appointment of Kavthekar to the role of CFO suggests health care related products could play a greater role in LivingSocial’s value proposition going forward given his background at Sears and Walgreens.
“Atul is a seasoned finance leader with deep retail, ecommerce, corporate development and strategic experience, which will be a tremendous asset in shaping the refounding journey at LivingSocial,” said Gautam Thakar, LivingSocial’s CFO. “We are thrilled to have him join the team at this important stage of the business.”
He joins LivingSocial after spending the past year and a half at Sears where he served as CFO and head of corporate development for Sears Holdings Corporation’s Health and Wellness Solutions business unit. In that position, he was responsible for overall financial management, corporate and business development, and strategic planning for the division, according to a LivingSocial statement.
Prior to Sears, Kavthekar spent a little more than four years at Walgreens, last serving as CFO of Walgreens’ e-commerce division. In that role, he oversaw the financial management and business development of the retailer’s rapidly growing, multi-billion dollar unit, including its mobile, tablet and website platform development, according to LivingSocial statement that described their new hire as a leader in Walgreens mergers and acquisitions and strategic investing, including the company’s acquisition of drugstore.com.
Kavthekar was responsible for the overall financial performance of walgreens.com, drugstore.com, beauty.com, skinstore.com and visiondirect.com, as well as additional venture capital investments, according to LivingSocial. LivingSocial is in the midst of a transformation that began in October 2013 to shift away from the once hot space of being a daily deals provider. Last summer, Thakar joined the company as CEO after previously holding executive positions at eBay and Shopping.com.
Not long after his arrival, Thakar announced a cost-cutting move that included a 20% reduction in workforce and a facility closure he said were need to, “create a more streamlined and efficient sales model that will enable the business to fund areas of growth – namely technology, data science and mobile.”
Prior to his roles at Sears and Walgreens, Kavthekar held senior investment banking positions at KPMG Corporate Finance, Trenwith Group and Morgan Stanley. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Michigan.