Dive Brief:
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has named Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom to its board of directors, where he will also serve on the company’s technology and e-commerce committee and its compensation, nominating, and governance committee.
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With this move, Wal-Mart’s board now has 15 members, including Yahoo president-CEO Marissa Mayer, who has served for two years.
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had some 44,333 followers on Systrom's photo-sharing site as of Tuesday. By contrast, rival retailer Target boasts 362,860.
Dive Insight:
This appointment is Wal-Mart’s latest move in its recent campaign to take its e-commerce and technology game up a notch. The retailer has made improvements to its site to accommodate mobile devices and has invested in Silicon Valley startups.
Systrom has said that mobile’s small screens (now getting decidedly larger) provided a creative challenge that helped shape Instagram into the phenomenon it is today—and for which Facebook paid handsomely two years ago. Perhaps that attitude can rub off on Wal-Mart, a retail stalwart that has seen its sales and profits ebb recently.
