Instacart Announces Two New Appointments to its Board of Directors—Global Product Leader Fidji Simo and Finance Veteran Barry McCarthy
Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, today announced that Fidji Simo, Head of Facebook App and Barry McCarthy, former Chief Financial Officer for both Spotify and Netflix, have joined the Company’s Board of Directors. Simo brings to Instacart’s Board years of experience leading global teams at scale and building beloved consumer products; and McCarthy brings more than three decades of experience in business operations and management, finance, accounting and corporate governance.
“We’re excited to welcome Fidji and Barry to our Board of Directors during this important time for Instacart as we continue to serve as a lifeline for millions of customers, more than 500,000 shoppers and hundreds of retailers across North America,” said Apoorva Mehta, Founder and CEO of Instacart. “Fidji brings extensive experience developing mainstream, global products that are used by billions of people every day. Her passion and instincts for building products people love will be invaluable as Instacart continues to focus on creating the best online grocery shopping experience for customers. With Barry, we’re adding one of the brightest finance minds in the world to our Board. He has unparalleled insights on operational execution and building at-scale, sustainable businesses and will be an important advisor as we focus on Instacart’s next chapter of growth.”
Simo is currently the Head of Facebook App, where she leads the development and strategy for the Facebook App, including News Feed, Stories, Groups, Video, Marketplace, Gaming, News, Dating, Ads and more. She joined Facebook in 2011 and has been a core driver of Facebook’s mobile monetization strategy and led the team in charge of developing ad formats for mobile. She has also made video a critical part of the Facebook experience, from rolling out videos that autoplay in News Feed, to building and launching Facebook Live and Watch. In her most recent role, she led all Video, Games and Monetization efforts across the Facebook App.
Prior to Facebook, Simo joined eBay in 2007, as part of the Strategy team. In addition to serving as a member of Instacart’s Board of Directors, Simo co-founded Women in Product, a non-profit to help women reach leadership positions in product management.
“I am proud to be joining Apoorva and the rest of Instacart’s Board of Directors. The Covid-19 pandemic has created a new normal for all of us, and it has put a spotlight on the role that services like Instacart can play in making people’s lives easier and creating economic opportunity for many,” said Simo. “Instacart’s services have been a lifeline for my family and many others during the pandemic, and I see it as an essential service going forward. I look forward to joining the Board and helping guide the talented Instacart team as they continue to scale and create more products and services that people love.”
McCarthy was previously the Chief Financial Officer for Spotify from 2015 to January 2020 and global head of its advertising business from September 2016 to January 2020. Prior to joining Spotify, he was a private investor and member of the board of directors of several private companies. He previously served as a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Pandora from 2011 to 2013; as a board member for Eventbrite from 2011 to 2015; and as a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee for Chegg from 2010 to 2015. Since 2011, McCarthy has also served as an Executive Adviser to Technology Crossover Ventures.
From 1999 to 2010, McCarthy was the Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer of Netflix. Before joining Netflix, he held various management positions in management consulting, investment banking and media and entertainment. In addition to serving as a member of Instacart’s Board of Directors, McCarthy is also currently a member of the Board of Directors for Spotify.
“I’m excited to be joining Instacart’s Board of Directors. I’ve gotten to know Apoorva and the management team during the last year, and have been impressed by how they’ve successfully navigated the company through a time of unprecedented growth, while also meeting the needs of their customers, shoppers and retail partners,” said McCarthy. “Grocery ecommerce in North America is at a tipping point, and I believe Instacart is well positioned to continue to lead in the space as consumer adoption increases throughout the coming years.”
Simo and McCarthy join Instacart’s distinguished Board of Directors, which also includes Instacart Founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta; Daniel Sundheim, Founder and CIO of D1 Capital Partners; Michael Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital; and Jeff Jordan, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
Instacart today partners with nearly 600 national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to offer delivery and pickup services from more than 45,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart is available to more than 85 percent of U.S. households and 70 percent of Canadian households.