Leaked memo reveals new leaders reorganizing Amazon’s grocery business and integrating Whole Foods

Jason Buechel took the reins of Amazon‘s grocery empire earlier this year. Now, he’s assembled a team to reorganize and run it all, including Whole Foods.

According to a recent internal memo, obtained by Business Insider, Buechel shared a new leadership team that brings together seasoned executives from Whole Foods and Amazon.

It’s the first major restructuring under Buechel, who became Whole Foods CEO in 2022 and was promoted to oversee Amazon’s entire grocery business in January. As part of the change, Whole Foods is being more tightly integrated with the tech giant, BI reported on Wednesday.

The move comes nearly 8 years after Amazon acquired Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. In the memo, Buechel said changes are needed to accelerate the growth of Amazon’s grocery business.

“Too frequently we are duplicating efforts and missing easy opportunities for efficiency,” Buechel wrote. “We have a big opportunity to work smarter across teams and simplify how we approach shared needs.”

The new leadership team is split into 7 main business areas, including technology, operations, and marketing.

Here’s the full list, according to the memo:

• Anand Varadarajan, VP of product and technology, will lead Worldwide Grocery Technology and Supply Chain

• Bill Jordan, Whole Foods EVP of Operations, will lead Worldwide Grocery Store Operations
• Christina Minardi, Whole Foods’ EVP of Growth and Development, will lead Worldwide Grocery Real Estate Growth and Development
• Ganesh Rao, VP of Amazon Fresh International, will lead Amazon Fresh International and Grocery Partnerships
• Karen Christensen, Whole Foods’ SVP of merchandising, will lead North America Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go
• Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Whole Foods’ chief merchandising and marketing officer, will lead Worldwide Grocery Marketing & Private Brands and Whole Foods Market Business
• Vishy Subramanian, VP of Amazon Grocery Logistics, will lead Amazon Grocery Logistics
• Astu Patel, senior manager of product and engineering, will be the Business Operations Manager
• Kim Wells, senior director of growth and innovation, will lead strategic retail initiatives
• Amy O’Hay, VP of PXT Worldwide Grocery Stores, will lead HR
• Heather Stern, Whole Foods SVP of legal affairs, will lead legal
• Keith Manbeck, VP of finance, will lead finance
• Kristen Kish, director of communications, will lead PR

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