In one of his biggest hires yet as Kroger’s new CEO, Greg Foran has hired a former Walmart colleague, Nate Faust, to head the supermarket giant’s eCommerce business.
Faust was tapped by the Cincinnati-based grocer as its chief eCommerce officer, starting Sept. 1.
Faust co-founded a business that transformed Walmart’s digital operations
A co-founder of Jet.com in 2014, he joined Walmart when the Arkansas behemoth bought it for $3.3 billion in 2016 to transform its early digital business into a nearly $40 billion business in 2020, the year he left. Faust was Walmart’s senior vice president of U.S. eCommerce Supply Chain during his time with the discounter.
During his Walmart tenure, he worked closely with Foran, who was at the time the head of the mass discounter’s U.S. stores, from 2014 to 2019.
More recently, Faust founded and led Olive, a delivery platform that bundled beauty and fashion purchases to reduce cardboard and packaging waste. Before Jet.com and Walmart, he was a member of the executive team at Diapers.com.
“Nate built businesses that redefined what customers expect from eCommerce, built on speed, value and the experience of getting exactly what the customer ordered,” Foran said in a statement.
In a statement, Faust welcomed the chance to reteam with Foran.
“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work alongside Greg again and build on that strong foundation, continuing to improve the customer experience in this fast-growing part of the business.”
Kroger’s eCommerce business generated $16 billion in 2025
Faust’s hire comes months after Kroger has restructured its digital business, cutting back plans for nearly two dozen robotic warehouses that directly handle home delivery and shifting more order fulfillment back to its retail stores. The cuts have made Kroger’s eCommerce business, which generated $16 billion in annual sales in 2025, profitable for the first time this year.
The new hire also comes at a time Kroger has seen a recent spate of executive departures following Foran’s taking the helm of Kroger on Feb. 9. Two of the recent departures were head of retail divisions that might have been future contenders for the next CEO. Foran, 65, is the first-ever outsider hired to lead the company.
In July, Kroger tapped former McDonald’s executive, Emilee De Martino, as its new chief people officer, to replace Tim Massa, who is retiring in September.
Kroger is a huge grocer with more than $147 bilion in 2025 sales
With $147.6 billion in annual sales, Kroger operates nearly 2,700 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia, including 77 in Greater Cincinnati. The company employs 403,000 workers, including nearly 20,000 in the Greater Cincinnati region.
The retailer operates stores under the Kroger banner name as well as Fred Meyer, Ralphs, Harris Teeter, Pick ‘n Save, Dillons, King Soopers, Mariano’s, Fry’s, QFC and others.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kroger CEO Greg Foran taps former Walmart colleague to head eCommerce
Reporting by Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alexander Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
