Ocado Retail’s chief commercial officer Amit Chitnis is stepping down from the role after less than two years.
Chitnis joined the online pureplay grocer in December 2023, following a decade at Tesco. He initially joined Tesco as head of group strategy before taking on retail operations for 27 stores in west London. That was followed by stints as category director, head of trading for Booker Wholesale and latterly UK grocery director.
Suppliers were alerted to the move by Ocado Retail CEO Hannah Gibson this week.
George Dean, currently the online grocer’s director of commercial development, has been appointed interim chief commercial officer.
Gibson said Dean’s move into the role would “ensure a seamless leadership transition, as he brings a wealth of commercial experience and strong, strategic leadership”.
Dean joined Ocado in 2019 and ran its rapid delivery Zoom business for four years prior to moving into his current role.
Chitnis told The Grocer in August last year that his move from Tesco to Ocado came after asking himself: “What would retail look like by the time I’m close to retiring? And I wasn’t convinced I was quite at the cutting edge of what the future looks like.”
During his time at Ocado Retail, the company has grown faster than the wider online grocery channel, and has spent many months over the past year as UK’s fastest-growing supermarket, according to the Kantar figures.
Chitnis – who named Tata Group ex-chairman Ratan Tata and ex-Booker CEO Charles Wilson as his business heroes – told The Grocer last year one of his proudest moments with the company had come been during a supplier factory visit. One of its biggest suppliers told him Ocado Retail had “rediscovered its mojo”.
The mojo quote had “really stuck with me” he said.
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