Ocado Group, the online grocery technology provider, is embarking on a strategic shake-up that includes the appointment of its first chief revenue officer as it attempts to revive its sagging stock market valuation.
Sky News has learned that the London-listed operator of automated retail warehouses will announce on Wednesday that it has recruited Nick de la Vega to the new role, with a mission to drive global sales for food and non-food retailers.
Mr de la Vega will join the Ocado Group from digital transformation specialist Atos, where he was Global Head of Sales.
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He will report to Tim Steiner, co-founder and chief executive of Ocado.
Ocado Group employees were informed of his appointment on Tuesday afternoon.
His remit will include establishing new partnerships and maintaining existing ones, as well as leading Ocado’s global technology sales efforts in new areas such as pharmaceuticals and apparel, which the company has expanded into in recent years.
The company said in July that its exclusivity agreements with a number of customers would “apply to the majority of markets where Ocado’s technology is already available”, although it did not specify which partners it was referring to.
In the UK, it serves several customers, including Marks & Spencer – via Ocado Retail – and Morrisons.
Ocado’s food partners include Aeon in Japan, Alcampo in Spain, Australian chain Coles and Lotte in South Korea.
Its non-food partners include McKesson in Canada.
Shares in Ocado Group fell last month when Kroger, its main US-based retail partner, said it would “carefully consider” future investments in automated warehouses.
The statement wiped around £500m off Ocado’s value in a single day.
Ocado Group shares closed at 234.4p on Tuesday, giving the company a market capitalization of just under £2bn.
The stock has fallen nearly 40% in the last year.
The Ocado group declined to comment.