Former grocery executive joins J.C. Penney

J.C. Penney has officially appointed former Sprouts Farmers Market executive Shawn Gensch as executive vice president and chief customer officer, effective June 3.

The company says it hopes Gensch will help revitalize the company’s stalling sales by driving aggressive customer-centric strategies to grow traffic, engagement and customer retention. In addition he will be responsible for revitalizing the company’s brand, leading marketing initiatives across all channels, shaping the company’s messaging and delivering an outstanding digital experience and increased customer loyalty.

Gensch joins Dallas-based J.C. Penney from Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market where he served as chief customer officer, overseeing the grocer’s brand and category marketing strategy, digital marketing, guest insights, customer relations, advertising, social media, private label brand strategy and public relations.

Prior to Sprouts, Gensch co-founded and served as CEO of iAMroyalist, Inc. Gensch also spent 10 years at Target Corp., joining in 2003 and serving in positions of increasing responsibility, including senior vice president of marketing. In addition, Gensch served as the president of Target Bank.

“I am delighted to welcome Shawn to J.C. Penney,” said J.C. Penney CEO Jill Soltau. “His appointment fills a vital component of our executive leadership team, and we are eager to leverage his cross-functional expertise to inspire an engaging and rewarding shopping experience for our customers. Shawn will be instrumental in developing a compelling brand identity that builds meaningful connections with new shoppers, and strengthens relationships with our most loyal customers.”