Instacart taps Uber exec for top brand and marketing role

Dive Brief:

Instacart announced on Thursday that former Uber executive Laura Jones is now the e-commerce firm’s vice president of brand and marketing.
Jones was most recently Uber’s global head of marketing for its Rides business, according to the press release.
Jones is Instacart's latest hire from top companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google as the company fills out its C-suite and top executive roles.

Dive Insight:

Jones is the 12th executive hire Instacart has made in recent months. She joins Daniel Danker, another former Uber executive, whom Instacart brought on in March as vice president of shopper and fulfillment.

Jones started at Uber in 2015 as senior product marketing manager, according to her LinkedIn profile. As global head of product marketing, she created a worldwide team of more than 60 product marketing managers and strategists for Uber’s Rides, Eats and Freight businesses, according to the press release.

In her most recent role as global head of marketing for Rides, she oversaw the division’s marketing strategy, key performance indicators and budget.

Before Uber, Jones led brand and marketing communications for Google Express and worked on innovations and e-commerce marketing for Visa. She has experience in brand identity development, physical asset design and digital campaigns.

At Instacart, Jones will take the lead on creating a cohesive brand for the e-commerce firm, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Asha Sharma.

The hiring isn’t over: Instacart aims to grow its corporate team by more than 50% in 2021, according to the press release. Instacart is filling out its top-level roles at a time when the company is expanding its retail partners beyond grocery and geographic footprint as it reportedly considers going public.

Earlier this week, Instacart launched in Quebec with its first French-language experience. As 15-minute delivery companies start to gain a foothold across the U.S., Instacart announced last month that it’s rolling out delivery in as little as 30 minutes in 15 cities before expanding to more metro areas.