It was announced this Thursday that Amazon-owned grocer Whole Foods CEO John Mackey will retire next year and step down from his position.
Jason Buechel, currently Whole Foods’ COO, will become the new CEO following Mackey’s retirement, the company announced.
Mackey wrote in a memo to employees that he wants to “pursue some of my other passions” after 43 years at Whole Foods, and that Buechel is well-qualified to serve as the company’s CEO.
“I’ve decided that it’s time to begin to transition my role as CEO to the next generation of leadership,” Mackey stated in the memo. “I have thought long and hard about this, and while it is still surreal to write, I have decided to retire on September 1, 2022.”
The departure of Mackey comes after a flurry of executives have left Amazon in recent weeks. Former Amazon cloud chief Andy Jassy has taken the reins as CEO following Jeff Bezos’ departure as CEO in July.
The cloud business’s top executive, Charlie Bell, left Amazon in August. Earlier this year, Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon’s global consumer business, stepped down.
The acquisition of Whole Foods by Amazon in 2017 was done by shelling out $13.7 billion. The transaction shocked the industry at the time. Following the announcement, shares of Kroger and Sprouts Farmers Market plummeted as analysts interpreted Amazon’s acquisition as a signal that it will be competing with them.
With the introduction of the Fresh grocery chain and its cashierless convenience stores, Amazon has expanded its grocery presence further. Amazon still faces stiff competition from Walmart, Target, and Kroger, despite fears that it could disrupt the grocery industry.
