Recent Amazon hire takes over at Freshly
Prepared meal delivery service Freshly has named a former Amazon private brand leader its new CEO.
The New York-based company appointed Anna Fabrega to the role of chief executive officer, following the announcement that Mike Wystrach, the founder and CEO of Freshly, would be stepping down and transitioning into an advisory role to the Freshly board.
Fabrega had been serving the company as its chief commercialization officer since January, overseeing the company’s marketing, brand, menu development, customer experience and sales. During her time the company launched its first-ever plant-based own brand meals, expanding its menu to meet the growing demand for plant-based foods. The Plant Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute reported that retail sales of plant-based foods rose by 27% last year.
Fabrega came to Freshly from Amazon where she drove the start of Amazon’s private label fresh foods under the Amazon Kitchen line, featured in Amazon Go stores and others, and also helped drive the beginning of the Amazon Go stores and its Just Walk Out technology.
"I am honored and excited to lead Freshly into the future as I believe deeply in our mission to break down the barriers to healthy eating. Mike has built a tremendous organization here and I'm grateful to him for all we've accomplished so far," said Fabrega.
Originally from Panama, Fabrega has deep experience across food, retail and e-commerce. In addition to her work at Amazon, she held leadership roles at c-store chain Stripes, which was acquired by 7-Eleven, and Microsoft. Fabrega will report to Steve Presley, chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA, which acquired Freshly in 2020.
“From small beginnings hand-delivering meals to consumers, to building standard-setting technology and a nationwide network that delivers more than one million meals per week and helps make eating healthy easier and more convenient for people across the country, it's been an incredible journey to lead this team," said Wystrach. "It's never an easy decision to move on from something you've built from the ground up, but I'm excited to take my passion for creating new innovations for consumers on to my next chapter, and I look forward to seeing Anna lead the Freshly business to new heights."