Woolworths Group has appointed Sean Barrett, a former executive of US supermarket giant Albertson, as its new chief marketing officer, effective January.

Barrett will fill the role left by Andrew Hicks after he stepped down in June. Michael Laxton, previously director of group marketing practice, has been the company’s interim CMO since. 

Barrett spent more than 10 years at Albertson Companies, which has over 2200 stores across the US, and was most recently the company’s CMO from July 2022 to August this year. He previously worked at Procter & Gamble for nearly seven years.

According to Woolworths, the new CMO brings deep experience in leading performance marketing, customer data, generative AI, and advanced ROI measurement.

Earlier this month, the grocer announced that its GM of brand and marketing Claire West would depart in February to become director of marketing at Guzman Y Gomez.

For the first quarter of this fiscal year, the company reported a 2.7 per cent increase in total sales to $18.5 billion.