Fidji Simo (born 5 October 1985)[1] is a French-American[2] businesswoman and the CEO and Chair of Instacart.[3] Before Instacart, she spent a decade at Facebook where she was one of the top executives and led the Facebook App.[4] She co-founded the Metrodora Institute, a health clinic and research institute, and is currently president of The Metrodora Foundation. She is on the Board of Directors at OpenAI and Shopify.[5][6]
Fidji Simo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 5, 1985 Sète, France |
| Nationality |
|
| Education | HEC Paris UCLA Anderson School of Management |
| Occupation | CEO of Instacart |
| Board member of | |
| Spouse |
Remy Miralles (m. 2011) |
| Children | 1 |
Personal life and education
editSimo grew up in Sète, in the south of France, and now lives in California.[1][7] She was the first member of her family to graduate from high school, and holds a master of management degree from HEC Paris.[1][7] She spent the last year of her program at UCLA's Anderson School of Business.[7]
In October 2021, Simo co-founded the Metrodora Institute, a health clinic and research institute. Simo is now the President of the Metrodora Foundation. The Metrodora Institute is focused on treating patients with neuroimmune conditions.[8]
Simo is married to Remy Miralles and has a daughter.[9]
Career
editeBay
editSimo worked at eBay from 2007 to 2011 as part of the strategy team.[1][7] While at eBay, she built out the company’s local commerce and classified-advertising initiatives.[1]
Prior to joining Instacart, Simo was the Vice President and Head of the Facebook app.[7] Over the course of her decade at Facebook, she oversaw the development and strategy for the Facebook app, including News Feed, Stories, Groups, Video, Marketplace, Gaming, News, Dating, Ads and more. She also led the team in charge of architecting Facebook’s advertising business and monetizing mobile.[1] She made video a critical part of the Facebook experience, from rolling out videos that autoplay in News Feed, to building and launching Facebook Live and Facebook Watch.[7][1] Simo joined Facebook from eBay in 2011.
Instacart
editSimo joined Instacart’s board of directors in January 2021, and was appointed as the company’s CEO in July.[7][10] She started in the new role in August, replacing Apoorva Mehta, who became the executive chairman of the board.[11][7]
In September 2023, Instacart appointed Simo to succeed Apoorva Mehta as the Board Chair following the company's public debut initial public offering.[12]
Under Fidji's leadership, Instacart broke the longest tech IPO drought in the last 20 years, listing under the ticker symbol CART on Nasdaq in September 2023.[13]
Metrodora
editSimo is the founder of Metrodora Institute and President of the Metrodora Foundation. The institute opened its doors in April 2023 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[14]
The Institute “aims to accelerate cures for neuroimmune disorders by reimagining how patients are treated, and how they participate in research.”[15] The Institute has $35 million from an undisclosed venture investor.[15] The Institute both conducts research and treats patients. It has a particular interest in interdisciplinary work, breaking apart the silos of current medical practice.
The Metrodora Institute welcomes those suffering from diseases that many doctors fail to diagnose, and often do not know how to treat.[16]
Simo was motivated to start this medical venture by her own experience.[16]
The name of the institute is from ancient Greece: “Metrodora was a Greek physician who wrote a medical text, most likely titled “On Women's Diseases,” in the late fifth century C.E., which is thought to be the oldest surviving medical text by a woman.”[17]
Other activities
editSimo co-founded Women in Product, a nonprofit organization for women in product management.[7][18] The organization works to advance the careers of women in technology and advocates for equal representation in the workplace.[7] Previously Simo was on the boards of the L.A. Dance Project and Cirque du Soleil.[19][20]
In December 2021, Simo joined Shopify's board of directors.[21] In March 2024, she joined OpenAI's board of directors.[22]
Recognition
editSimo has been recognized by Fortune as part of their annual Most Powerful Women List (2023), 13 Innovators Shaping the Future of Health List (2023), and 40 under 40 List (2021 & 2016).[23][24][25] She has also been featured on Comparably’s list of Best Company CEOs (2023), Fast Company’s list of Most Creative People in Business, AdWeek’s list of the top 15 people shaping the future of mobile advertising, and was ranked 10th most influential French person in the world by Vanity Fair.[26][27][28] In 2024, she was listed on CNBC inaugural Changemakers list, recognizing the top female leaders transforming business[29]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Field, Genevieve (16 August 2019). "Fidji Simo Is the New Face of Facebook". Marie Claire. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
Fidji Simo, 33, strides into the room...
- ^ Lechevallier, Anne-Sophie (11 May 2018). "Fidji Simo, la Sétoise qui compte chez Facebook" [Fiji Simo, the Sétoise who counts at Facebook]. Paris Match.
- ^ "Instacart poaches one of the highest-ranking female Facebook executives, Fidji Simo, for CEO". CNBC. 8 July 2021.
- ^ "Fidji Simo, now in charge of Facebook's app, helped Facebook build a $55 billion ad business". Digiday. 18 March 2019.
- ^ "Governance- Board of Directors". Shopify.
- ^ "OpenAI announces new members to board of directors". OpenAI.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Spangler, Todd (8 July 2021). "Head of Facebook's App, Fidji Simo, Jumps Ship to Join Instacart as CEO". Variety. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Why Instacart's new CEO is also launching a women's health startup". Fortune. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ Aspan, Maria (4 October 2021). "Can new CEO Fidji Simo turn Instacart into more than just a delivery company?". Fortune.
- ^ "With CEO change, Instacart readies for 'next growth chapter'". Supermarket News. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ Rodriguez, Deirdre Bosa, Salvador (8 July 2021). "Instacart poaches one of the highest-ranking female Facebook executives, Fidji Simo, for CEO". CNBC. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Jacob, Denny (22 July 2022). "Instacart's Founder to Step Down as Chairman After IPO". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ Rothbart, Davy (26 February 2024). "Fidji Simo: Delivering Instacart's Next Chapter". Sequoia Capital. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Aspan, Maria (4 October 2021). "Why Instacart's new CEO is also launching a women's health startup". Fortune. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b Guy, Richard (19 April 2023). "Instacart CEO's medical institute reimagines neuroimmune diseases". Biocentury. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b Johnson, Cort (26 July 2023). "Metrodora – a High-Tech Clinical / Research Center for ME/CFS, FM, Long COVID, POTS – Opens". Health Rising. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Metrodora". Brooklyn Museum. Brookly, New York. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "With CEO change, Instacart readies for 'next growth chapter'". Supermarket News. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Jim Murren new co-chair of Cirque du Soleil, Lamarre remains as CEO". KLAS. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Board". L.A. DANCE PROJECT. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- ^ "Instacart CEO Joins Shopify Board". Progressive Grocer. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "OpenAI announces new members to board of directors". openai.com. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Fidji Simo | 2023 Most Powerful Women". Fortune. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "13 innovators shaping the future of health". Fortune Well. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Fidji Simo". Fortune. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ Heine, Christopher (21 February 2017). "These Mobile Innovators Are Shaping the Future of Advertising". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "The Most Creative People in Business". Fastcompany.com.
- ^ "Best Company CEO's". Comparably.com.
- ^ CNBC staff (28 February 2024). "These are the 2024 CNBC Changemakers: See the full list of women transforming business". CNBC.