Dive Brief:

• Ethnic e-grocer Weee has named former Ahold USA CEO James McCann to its board, the company announced on Wednesday.
• McCann, CEO and founder of Food Retail Ventures, which invests in young food and retail technology companies, brings more than 15 years of c-suite experience from grocers including Ahold Delhaize, Carrefour and Tesco to Weee as it scales its U.S. presence and grows its food assortment. 
• The company also announced that Vivek Subramanian, partner and chief product officer at venture capital firm Goodwater Capital, has become a board member and that Rudy Darmawan, a former Amazon software developer, will be its senior vice president of engineering.

Dive Insight:

The new additions continue Weee's hiring streak during the pandemic as it looks to flesh out its top ranks as well as its board. 

In bringing McCann onto its board, Weee is tapping the expertise and name recognition of a grocery industry veteran. McCann worked at Tesco for seven years, where he was as CEO of several of its regions, including Hungary, Malaysia and Poland, and then served as CEO of Carrefour France for a year before heading to Ahold USA, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

After nearly four years heading the Dutch grocery giant's U.S. business, McCann stepped down in October 2016. Later that month, he founded Food Retail Ventures, which he has led for the past five and a half years. 

McCann serves on a long list of company boards, including Afresh, Halla, Flashfood, grocery delivery service Anycart and technology company KanduAI, according to his LinkedIn.

Subramanian, the other new board member for Weee, brings software engineering and product management experience to the e-grocer. Prior to Goodwater Capital, Subramanian held senior roles at Sonder Inc., e-commerce company Coupang and Oracle Corporation.

Darmawan, Weee's SVP of engineering, held senior roles at Coupang and Amazon. At Amazon, Darmawan was senior software development manager for fulfillment center systems and then for the Kindle content experience, according to LinkedIn.  

Larry Liu, Weee's CEO and founder, said in a statement that the recent appointments "bring a depth of experience in grocery, retail, and e-commerce" to its board and leadership team and come at a "pivotal moment in the transformation of how ethnic consumers purchase food, celebrate traditions, and experience culture."

Earlier this month, Weee announced it hired filmmaker Jon M. Chu as its chief creative officer to help the company amplify its storytelling and social commerce. Weee is charting a course to become the go-to ethnic food company in the U.S. as it continues to expand geographically, add to its assortment and bundle meals along with grocery orders.