Circana has named Kroger chief merchant Stuart Aitken as president and CEO of Circana, effective January 1, 2025. He will succeed Kirk Perry, who has decided to retire from the role. He will continue to serve as a Circana Board of Directors member. Aitken will also join the Board as a director.
“Aitken joins Circana from Kroger, where he has served as chief merchant and marketing officer since 2019,” Circana said in a media release. “Aitken helped to transform Kroger with a strong focus on people and culture, data and insights and shopper transformation, leading to significant value creation for Kroger and its partners. Aitken also developed a more customer-centric approach to merchandising and marketing at Kroger with a focus on driving high margin digital revenue streams including data/analytics and retail media.”
Circana Board Chair, Tod Johnson, said, “As part of the company’s succession planning process, Kirk and the rest of the Circana Board have been focused on identifying the ideal candidate to lead Circana well into the future, and we are confident we have found that in Stuart. His passionate leadership, strategic and innovative mindset, and extensive experience across the retail, technology, and data/analytics industries will create value for our company, our people and the clients we serve globally.”
Aitken added, “I am grateful for the opportunity to join the Circana team and work together with colleagues across the globe to build upon Circana’s position as an industry leader. As a longtime partner to Circana, I have a deep appreciation for the power of its platform and critical role Circana plays across the consumer ecosystem. With best-in-class technology, data, and expertise, Circana will continue to drive growth and innovation across a wide breadth of global clients and industries.”
Johnson continued, “As CEO, Kirk helped spearhead the transformative merger between two world-class brands to create Circana as a leading advisor on consumer behavior across all retail and position the organization for sustained success. His focused dedication elevated both the client and employee experiences while delivering outstanding results year-over-year. On behalf of our Board, I thank Kirk for his leadership and ongoing commitment to Circana.”
Perry said, “It has been a true honor to lead this organization through a transformative period in its history. I am proud of the remarkable progress we made over the past four years, and forever grateful to our talented teams, clients and partners that made Circana what it is today. I am confident that Stuart is the right leader for Circana’s next stage of growth, and I look forward to working closely with him alongside the rest of our distinguished Board members.”
Images courtesy Circana, Kroger
