BJ’s names omnichannel VP

BJ’s Wholesale Club has added an executive to build out its omnichannel team. Naveen Seshadri fills the newly created position of VP, digital commerce and experience.

Seshadri will focus on expansion of the brand’s omni capabilities, including digital customer strategy, e-commerce merchandising, digital marketing, and digital insights and analytics.

Seshadri joins BJ’s from Lonely Planet, where he was chief operating officer.

BJ’s joins a rank of retailers adding executives to their staffs in order to boost their omnichannel capabilities.

Ahold and Dollar General are two chains that recently added chief digital officer roles, which will include a focus on customer-facing digital innovations, such as those involving loyalty programs.

“One of the things a CDO is being asked to do is convert traditional business channels and practices into digital ones,” said Jose Tamez, managing partner at executive search firm Austin-Michael.

In general, these positions combine elements of technology, operations and marketing, Tamez said. Thus, the new role can create blurred lines in terms of job responsibilities and day-to-day functions, as the historic leaders of these three divisions cede some of their responsibilities to the CDO.