Sears Holdings has scored something of a coup by bringing over former Amazon.com logistics head Girish Lakshman as fulfillment president.
The newly created position is considered critical to Sears’ “Shop Your Way” integrated retail strategy, which is striving for a seamless customer experience across digital and physical channels.
“Girish’s strong operational discipline, process thinking and experience leading change make him a strong fit for Sears Holdings, said chairman, CEO and majority shareholder Eddie Lampert. “He will work closely with me and our supply chain and inventory management leaders to enhance our members’ experiences and support our transformation as an integrated retailer.”
Lakshman is a 15-year veteran of Amazon, having held positions of increasing responsibility in a variety of roles in transportation, technology, logistics, operational excellence and management, and most recently served as Amazon’s worldwide transportation strategy, technology and customer returns VP. In that role, he was managing multi-disciplinary functions in transportation, including coordinating with global supply chain and fulfillment centers and developing the e-tailer’s same-day delivery capabilities.
He retired from Amazon last year.
A public speaker profile described him as being “instrumental” in shaping Amazon’s logistics strategy and a recognized leader in the field. He also serves on the board of GrubHub, an online and mobile food delivery service platform, and sits on the advisory board of the Master of Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics program at University of Washington.
His appointment follows a number of recent high-profile appointments, including former Johnson & Johnson and Hewlett-Packard senior exec Lynn Pendergrass as hardlines president, and Belkin and Disney vet Tom Park as president of the Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands.
Lakshman is not the first Sears exec to be lured away from Amazon; other recent Seattle-to-Sears recruits include former Amazon CE director and current Sears home appliance president James Coyle, and Sears connected solutions and CE president Ryan Ciovacco, who helped launch Amazon’s home-automation section.
