Amazon’s top grocery stores exec Tony Hoggett is leaving in big exit from senior leadership team

Tony Hoggett, the Amazon senior vice president in charge of the company’s worldwide grocery stores business, is leaving the tech giant amid an ongoing series of changes and experiments in its physical retail stores.

A former Tesco executive, Hoggett started at Amazon in January 2022, and served on the company’s senior leadership team, or S-team, which meets regularly with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and other top executives.

During his tenure at the company, he brought together and oversaw all of Amazon’s grocery businesses, including Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, Amazon Go, and the company’s grocery partnerships.

Hoggett’s last day at the company will be Nov. 1, according to an internal Amazon email viewed by GeekWire. The email notes that the company is still working on a succession plan, with more details expected in the coming weeks. 

His direct reports — Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel; Amazon Fresh VP Claire Peters; and Worldwide Grocery Product and Technology VP Anand Varadarajan — will report in the meantime to Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, according to the email viewed by GeekWire.

In a post on LinkedIn, Hoggett said it was “time for the next step in my career.” There’s no word yet on where he might be going next.

“My time at Amazon has been incredible, and I’m grateful to my colleagues for their support, guidance and friendship,” he wrote. “I’m optimistic about the work Amazon is doing to improve the grocery shopping experience for customers, and have no doubt the teams will keep the momentum going in my absence. I’ll be cheering you all on.”

Amazon has been trying for many years to come up with a successful formula in grocery, with mixed results. Hoggett’s tenure saw the company introduce new store formats, close some stores, pause and restart expansion, and shift away from the “Just Walk Out” checkout-free technology in its large format Amazon Fresh stores.

Most recently, the company announced a pilot of a small-format store concept next to (but operating separately from) a Whole Foods Market in Chicago. Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.

Other recent departures include Jon Jenkins, who previously led Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology business, and joined Lime as chief technology officer.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed Hoggett’s exit in a statement: “After nearly three years of leading our grocery business, helping guide the organization to new levels of impact, and building a strong team that will continue to make grocery shopping simpler, faster, and more affordable, Tony Hoggett has decided to leave Amazon. We thank Tony for his many accomplishments at Amazon and especially for what he’s delivered for customers.”