Wish Names a New CEO to Lead its 2022 Rebound

On Monday afternoon, Wish revealed that Vijay Talwar succeeded the mobile e-commerce platform’s founder, Piotr Szulczewski, as CEO. Talwar will also take a spot on the company’s Board of Directors alongside Szulczewski, who will retain his seat.

Talwar, the former CEO of Foot Locker’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), will lead the San Francisco-based company’s longer-term growth plans. He will also execute Wish’s turnaround plan, which aims to return the company to growth during the second half of 2022. To do so, Wish aims to improve both user and merchant experiences in its app with new features, technological innovations and “operational excellence.”

Wish has been struggling with growth over the past couple of years, citing supply chain struggles during the initial outbreak of COVID-19 and more recently blaming the return to in-person shopping.

In a Q2 2021 shareholder letter, Szulczewski revealed that “daily user activity and active buyers on our platform declined more than we had anticipated, particularly in the U.S., France and Italy — three of our largest markets.” The company’s fortunes didn’t improve over the next few months, and it revealed that its revenue through the end of October 2021 was down approximately 20% compared to the year before.

While a turnaround plan is an ambitious first task for any executive, Talwar brings the requisite experience to get it done. Before leading Foot Locker’s EMEA operations, he served as the President of Foot Locker Digital and turned the online commerce unit into the footwear retailer’s fastest-growing and most profitable segment. Before that, he held executive positions at Blue Nile, Nike, Bain & Company and Deloitte.

“Vijay is a strong leader with a track record of leading complex multinational businesses through significant periods of change, Szulczewski stated in a press release. “His retail and e-commerce experience, which spans both publicly and privately held companies, will be invaluable to Wish as the company continues to refocus its efforts and execute on its ambitious turnaround plan.”

Talwar’s ascension to the company’s top executive office follows last year’s C-suite revamp and the naming of a new Executive Chair. In October 2021, former Shutterfly executive Vivian Liu was named Wish’s CFO and ex-Google executives Farhang Kassaei and Tarun Jain were appointed CTO and Chief Product Officer in August and July, respectively.

“Wish has all the ingredients to be a true leader in the e-commerce space — a great product, an engaging and entertainment-driven social platform, a strong user base, and a world-class team that is highly motivated to deliver on the turnaround plan,” Talwar added. “I am eager to apply my own experience within the retail and e-commerce space to further refine our focus and put the business back onto a path of growth. I firmly believe the best years for Wish are right ahead of us.”