Press Release
Instacart to Appoint Meredith Kopit Levien, President and CEO of The New York Times Company, and Lily Sarafan, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Home Care Assistance, to Its Board of Directors
San Francisco – October 27, 2021 – Instacart, the leading online grocery platform in North America, today announced that Meredith Kopit Levien, President and CEO of The New York Times Company, and Lily Sarafan, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Home Care Assistance, will join the Company’s Board of Directors. Kopit Levien helped lead The Times’ transformation to become a fast-growing, digital business. She is a seasoned executive who brings deep experience building and leading cross-functional teams working on the challenges of scaling subscriptions and creating engaging direct-to-consumer products. Sarafan brings to Instacart deep expertise in reimagining and operating in highly complex industries, while creating and advising leading consumer marketplaces.
“We’re proud to welcome Meredith and Lily to Instacart’s Board of Directors. Meredith’s expertise and passion lies in launching and scaling digital products with leading subscription models. Her unique perspective will serve as a guiding force as we continue to enhance our service and deliver even more value to customers, particularly through our own membership offering, Instacart Express. Lily is exceptional at building at-scale, sustainable businesses in complex industries. She brings a deep passion for building consumer marketplaces that infuse technology into everyday tasks to make them more accessible and affordable, as well as invaluable experience supporting a community of thousands of frontline workers,” said Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart. “Both Meredith and Lily, along with the rest of the Instacart Board, will be instrumental as we continue to serve as a retail enablement platform and drive more value for our partners, customers and shoppers.”
Kopit Levien is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of The New York Times Company, where she directs the company’s overall business strategy and leads its global operations. Previously, she served as Chief Operating Officer of The New York Times, overseeing all major commercial operations, including subscriptions, advertising, events, and the cross-functional digital product development organization.
Prior to joining The New York Times in 2013, Kopit Levien was at Forbes for five years, where she held various roles, including Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer. She is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
“I’m excited to join Instacart’s Board of Directors,” said Kopit Levien. “With more than 20 years working on the business of journalism, I’ve had a first-hand look at the digital evolution of an industry that’s been essential in people’s daily lives for centuries. Similarly, grocery is in the midst of an important evolution of its own, and I believe Instacart can play a critical role in the digital transformation of their industry. I look forward to joining the Board and working with Fidji and the rest of the leadership team.”
Sarafan is co-founder and Executive Chair of Home Care Assistance, where she has led the company from its earliest days as a startup to an industry leader in senior care with more than 10,000 employees across North America. As co-founder, former CEO, and now Executive Chair, Sarafan has been instrumental in deploying a new, uniquely integrated approach to aging — supported by a community of more than 10,000 frontline caregivers — that has completely reimagined senior care. As a result, Home Care Assistance has been recognized as one of the 50 fastest-growing women-owned companies worldwide.
Sarafan currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Thumbtack and Kyo. She also serves on the Stanford University Board of Trustees and is a Founding Partner of Project BIG: The Stanford Brain Immune Gut Initiative. An appointee to the California Governor’s Alzheimer’s Task Force, Sarafan serves in various other leadership roles to advance precision health and wellness, economic development and entrepreneurship, and informed civic engagement.
“Instacart has unlocked an innovative, sustainable model that supports the entire grocery industry – from retailers and brands to customers and shoppers – and I’m proud to join its Board of Directors,” said Sarafan. “As a customer, I’ve experienced firsthand how Instacart can reshape the way households access and discover new foods. As an entrepreneur, I know that driving innovation in an industry that’s an integral – and often deeply personal – part of everyone’s life is not a simple task. I’ve been impressed by Instacart’s role as a chief ally for the broader grocery industry, elevating the experience for retailers and customers alike. I look forward to supporting the team as Instacart continues to make online grocery shopping a part of the everyday rhythm for more people across North America.”
Kopit Levien and Sarafan join Instacart’s distinguished Board of Directors, which also includes Instacart CEO Fidji Simo; Instacart Founder and Executive Chairman Apoorva Mehta; Barry McCarthy, former Chief Financial Officer of both Spotify and Netflix; Daniel Sundheim, Founder and CIO of D1 Capital Partners; Frank Slootman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Snowflake; Michael Moritz, Managing Member at Sequoia Capital; and Jeff Jordan, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
Instacart today partners with more than 700 national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to offer delivery and pickup services from more than 65,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart is available to over 85% of U.S. households and 90% of Canadian households.
About Instacart
Instacart is the leading online grocery platform in North America. Instacart shoppers offer same-day delivery and pickup services to bring fresh groceries and everyday essentials to busy people and families across the U.S. and Canada. Instacart has partnered with more than 700 beloved national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to deliver from more than 65,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart’s platform is available to over 85% of U.S. households and 90% of Canadian households. The company’s cutting-edge enterprise technology also powers the ecommerce platforms of some of the world’s biggest retail players, supporting their white-label websites, applications and delivery solutions. Instacart offers an Instacart Express membership that includes reduced service fees and unlimited free delivery on orders over $35. For more information, visit www.instacart.com. For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/.