Wonder brings in senior executives from Walmart, Wayfair
The delivery-focused restaurant company founded by former Walmart executive Marc Lore is tapping veteran retail executives for two GM positions.
In an email to Chain Store Age, Wonder announced that two senior executives from Walmart and Wayfair are joining the company in senior VP/GM roles. Whitney Pegden, VP of new propositions at Walmart, is taking the position of senior VP and GM of Blue Apron, the meal kit provider Wonder purchased in November 2023.
In addition, Courtney Lawrie, head of brand, growth and integrated marketing at Wayfair, is joining Wonder as senior VP and GM. Following are more details on each new hire.
Whitney Pegden
As senior VP and GM of Blue Apron, Pegden will be responsible for integrating Blue Apron into the broader Wonder ecosystem and expanding the product offering to new categories beyond meal kits.
During a seven-year tenure at Walmart, Pegden served as VP of new propositions, responsible for Walmart’s generative AI assistant, augmented/extended reality portfolio, and InHome delivery. Wonder operates a location offering delivery of made-to-order food from multiple restaurants it operates inside a Quakertown, Penn. Walmart store.
In her new role at Wonder, Pegden will primarily focus on integrating Blue Apron into the broader Wonder ecosystem and expanding the product offering to new categories beyond meal kits as part of a larger innovation effort in the Blue Apron division.
Pegden joined Walmart in 2018 when the discounter acquired Wim, a manufacturer of at-home frozen yogurt machines where she served as COO.
Courtney Lawrie
As SVP and GM at Wonder, Lawrie will focus on driving revenue and loyalty for Wonder's restaurant and delivery business across all consumer-facing touchpoints, as well as opening more than 50 new brick-and-mortar stores in 2025.
[READ MORE: Marc Lore-led food startup raises $700M; plans 90 stores by 2025]
During her 15-plus-year tenure at Wayfair, Lawrie began as a category associate and also held titles including senior brand marketing manager and associate director of brand marketing, Lawrie spearheaded overall awareness and top line growth across marketing, partnerships, and physical retail.
In addition to opening new stores, expanding into new markets and growing Blue Apron, Wonder will also be focusing on integrating on-demand delivery platform Grubhub, which it acquired from Netherlands-based global online delivery conglomerate JustEatTakeaway.com for $650 million in November 2024.
Wonder - a brief history
Marc Lore is credited with transforming Walmart’s e-commerce operations and served as president and CEO of Walmart U.S. e-commerce from 2016 to January of 2021.
He founded Wonder Group and committed himself full-time to the business in December of 2021. Since then, Wonder has raised at least another $700 million in capital and announced plans to grow from its current base 38 locations to 90 by the end of 2025.
In January 2023, Wonder abandoned its previous mobile food truck focus and pivoted to an operating strategy reminiscent of the ghost kitchen model, operating kitchens that offer delivery and in-location dining and pickup. Wonder customers can choose items from menus curated by various celebrity chefs such as José Andrés, Michael Symon and Bobby Flay. The menus feature different types of cuisines, allowing customers, for example, to order Mexican and Italian food in the same order.
Wonder also plans to “aggressively invest” in research and development, according to Lore, focusing on areas including faster cook times, software enhancements, new menu items, new chefs and new restaurant partnerships.
Lore said the company will also continue to invest in proprietary technology to drive operational efficiencies, including back-end technology focused on driving down food waste; next-gen kitchen designs to improve throughput and consistency, and an enhanced delivery network.
Wonder has publicly said its ultimate goal is to become the “super app for meal time.”
