Circana has named Stuart Aitken its President and CEO, effective January 1, 2025. Aitken is currently the Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer at Kroger. Circana’s current President and CEO, Kirk Perry, is retiring from the role but will serve the company as a Circana Board of Directors member.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join the Circana team and work together with colleagues across the globe to build upon Circana’s position as an industry leader. As a longtime partner to Circana, I have a deep appreciation for the power of its platform and critical role Circana plays across the consumer ecosystem,” said Aitken. “With best-in-class technology, data, and expertise, Circana will continue to drive growth and innovation across a wide breadth of global clients and industries.”

While at Kroger, Aitken focused on people, culture, data, insights, and shopper information, all relevant to his new role at Circana. He developed a customer-centric approach to merchandising and marketing. Prior to joining Kroger, Aitken was the CEO of 84.51°, the company’s data analytics arm. He held leadership roles at Michaels, Safeway, ASA, and Platinum Technology International.

“As part of the company’s succession planning process, Kirk and the rest of the Circana Board have been focused on identifying the ideal candidate to lead Circana well into the future, and we are confident we have found that in Stuart,” said Tod Johnson, Chair of the Circana Board. “His passionate leadership, strategic and innovative mindset, and extensive experience across the retail, technology, and data/analytics industries will create value for our company, our people, and the clients we serve globally.”

Regarding outgoing CEO Perry, Johnson added, “As CEO, Kirk helped spearhead the transformative merger between two world-class brands to create Circana as a leading advisor on consumer behavior across all retail and position the organization for sustained success. His focused dedication elevated both the client and employee experiences while delivering outstanding results year-over-year. On behalf of our Board, I thank Kirk for his leadership and ongoing commitment to Circana.” 

For more information about Circana’s board and its insights, visit circana.com.