Deliveroo Hires Amazon Supply-Chain Boss to Run Tech and Product

(Bloomberg) -- Deliveroo Plc has hired Amazon.com Inc. executive Devesh Mishra to be chief product and technology officer, helping with the U.K. food-delivery company’s expansion plans.

Mishra -- who was at Seattle-based Amazon for 16 years and most recently served as vice president of global supply chain -- will move to the U.K. and start in early September, Deliveroo said in a statement on Tuesday.

He’ll oversee engineering, data science, design and product development in the role, the company said. The company is creating 400 new tech jobs for software engineers, product managers and others, to improve productivity for riders and efficiency for the restaurants and grocery stores on its platform. Priorities for the expanded team include projects to boost growth, such as on-demand grocery delivery and delivery-only kitchens.

“He has unique and unmatched experience in how technology can help to scale a business and deliver world-leading consumer experiences,” Chief Executive Officer Will Shu said in the statement.

Current Chief Product Officer Akshay Navle is leaving to work at another company in the fintech industry, the company said. Deliveroo’s CTO, Dan Winn, will remain at the company and work closely with Mishra, it said, without elaborating.

Deliveroo is working to ward off increasing competition as rivals from Europe and the U.S. expand their local delivery services and a myriad of smaller startups offer rapid grocery delivery.

The company’s shares, which tumbled following a March initial public offering, have been gaining ground in recent weeks. They jumped 4.5% on Monday after Delivery Hero SE bought a 5.1% stake in a vote of confidence.

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