Circana, an advisor on consumer behavior insights, has announced that Stuart Aitken has been named president and CEO, effective January 1. He will succeed Kirk Perry, who has decided to retire from his role as President and CEO at Circana and will continue to serve as a member of the Circana board of directors (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. Aitken reportedly helped to transform Kroger with a strong focus on people and culture, data and insights, and shopper transformation, leading to value creation for Kroger and its partners. Aitken also (according to the company) 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.

Tod Johnson, chair of the Circana board, says, “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 comments, “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 continues, “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 remarks, “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.” 

Aitken is said to bring extensive experience leading teams across retail, marketing, and analytics. In his most recent role at Kroger, Aitken was responsible for the grocery retail leader’s sales, pricing, planning, promotion, execution, analytics, ecommerce, digital merchandising, and private brands strategy.

Aitken joined Kroger after serving as CEO of 84.51°, Kroger’s data analytics arm, and its predecessor, Dunnhumby USA. Previously, Aitken acquired many years of marketing, academic and technical experience across a variety of industries and held various leadership roles including at Michael’s Stores and Safeway, Inc. He started his career in the tech space at ASA, Inc and Platinum Technology International.

Originally from Scotland, Aitken holds a bachelor’s degree with distinction from Queen Margaret University and a master’s degree in Information Management from the University of Strathclyde. He currently serves on the Boards of InvenTrust, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and Food Marketing Institute.

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