PetSmart Appoints Jesica Duarte as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

PetSmart this week announced the appointment of Jesica Duarte as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Duarte will oversee merchandising, proprietary brands, merchandise planning and allocation, digital and marketing organizations at PetSmart. This role is designed to accelerate the company’s growth strategy, enhance the customer experience and grow market share.

“Jesica is a strategic and growth-minded leader, with an impressive career tenure working across successful retail brands” said Ken Hicks, PetSmart President and CEO. “She has led teams through significant business and process transformations, while delivering strong business results and her expertise will be invaluable as we work to advance our long-range plan.”

Duarte has more than 30 years of leadership experience, having worked for some of the world’s most recognized brands across retail, grocery, beauty and food and beverage industries. Duarte most recently served as Group Vice President, National Merchandising for the Albertsons Companies and spent the nearly twelve years prior at Walmart serving in various leadership roles including VP Private Brands, General Merchandise, Walmart US; VP Product Development & Sourcing, Home, Walmart US and Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer for Walmart Chile. Her prior experience includes merchandising and marketing roles at Molson Coors Beverage Company, Beam Suntory, Estee Lauder and J.C. Penney.

“This is an exciting time at PetSmart, and  I’m thrilled to be joining this impressive team at such a pivotal time in the business,” said Duarte. “PetSmart has such a special and unique community of associates, pet parents and pets who all share the same passion and I’m looking forward to being a part of that. I’m equally pleased to bring together my own passions for merchandising, marketing and meeting the customer where they are with omnichannel capabilities and to contribute to the work being done to make PetSmart the favorite pet retailer.”

A native of Chile, Duarte holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She is a proud advocate for the Hispanic community and has served as Chair of the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.