Walmart taps Instacart exec to head up AI acceleration

Walmart has hired Instacart executive Daniel Danker in a newly-created role as the executive vice president of AI acceleration for the Bentonville-based retail giant. Danker will report directly to CEO Doug McMillon.

“I look forward to working with Daniel and seeing how these changes strengthen our business and improve experiences for our customers, members and fellow associates,” McMillon noted on social media.

Danker made the announcement on his social media page late on Wednesday (July 23).

“After 4.5 unforgettable years, I’m wrapping up my time as chief product officer,” Danker wrote. “I joined in the middle of a global crisis, when Instacart became essential to families and retailers overnight. What followed was an incredible transformation: from grocery delivery to a full platform serving retailers, brands, and customers across every part of the food journey. We built new products, helped define what modern commerce can look like, and turned a phenomenal service into a public company.”

Danker will lead AI adoption at Walmart in addition to overseeing product and design teams. He said developing technology that enriches the lives of consumers has long been his passion. He said Walmart is special as few companies have embraced change and technology as boldly or as effectively.

“We’re on the eve of another transformation as AI enables us to reinvent commerce and serve customers and communities in entirely new ways. I’m excited and honored to help unlock this next chapter with Doug McMillon and the team,” Danker noted.

Danker also worked in product development for Facebook, Uber, and spent a decade at Microsoft as director of engineering and operations.

Walmart is not alone in deepening its bench of AI execs, as Meta Platforms (owners of Facebook and Instagram) recently hired two top execs from Apple and OpenAI to help accelerate AI capabilities.