Dive Brief:

• In another leadership change, The Home Depot on Tuesday announced it appointed Matt Carey as its new executive vice president of customer experience and Fahim Siddiqui as its new executive vice president and chief information officer.
• As executive vice president of customer experience — a new role for the company — Carey will drive the development of new strategies that will improve Home Depot's customer experience in stores and across its digital channels. Meanwhile, Siddiqui will manage the company's digital strategy, infrastructure and software development for all of its storefronts, supply chain facilities, store support centers and online systems.
• Carey was previously the senior vice president and chief technology officer at eBay, and he also served as senior vice president and CTO of Walmart before then. Prior to becoming Home Depot's senior vice president of information technology in 2018, Siddiqui previously held roles at Staples, MCI, Sprint and Time Warner Telecom, the company said.

Dive Insight:

Home Depot continues to promote from within as it enjoys gains sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. In late January, the home improvement retailer named Ted Decker as its new CEO, succeeding Craig Menear, who remained as board chairman. Decker, who joined the company in 2000, previously served as its chief operating officer.

In its announcement of Siddiqui's promotion, the company credited him with leading the creation of its central platform of common services, which improved customer experience, as well as the development of other applications and solutions across its business.

"Fahim is a tremendous leader and a brilliant technologist who understands the power of technology to unlock a better experience for our customers and associates, and I look forward to working with him in this next phase of growth for The Home Depot," Decker said in a statement.

In the announcement, Decker also highlighted Carey's 14 years of experience deploying technology to transform the company's digital presence, supply chain operations and stores.

"Now more than ever, our customers expect to shop with us how, when, and where they want – and there's little tolerance for friction in the shopping experience," Decker said. "Matt has a proven track record driving customer-first technology innovation, and I look forward to his leadership as we continue to make shopping at Home Depot a truly interconnected, easy experience for our customers."

As Home Depot draws on the experience of seasoned executives to improve its online operations, the retailer is positioning itself as the go-to home improvement retailer for professionals, differentiating itself from Lowe's. Last month, the company launched an online workshop series tailored to professional contractors seeking business advice on topics ranging from social media and expense management to spotting emerging trends. 

With the pandemic in a new phase and some parts of the economy reopened, Home Depot has continued to see growth despite declining demand in the home sector compared to the early days of the health crisis. The retailer reported that its fourth quarter net sales rose by 10.7% from last year to $35.7 billion. For the full fiscal year, its net sales saw a 14.4% bump to $151.2 billion.