Instacart names Casey Aden-Wansbury as government affairs VP

Airbnb executive Casey Aden-Wansbury has joined Instacart as vice president of policy and government affairs, a newly created position.

Instacart said Monday that Aden-Wansbury will lead the online grocery delivery company’s growing public policy team, with a focus on deepening relationships and collaboration with policymakers at the federal, state and local levels across North America. As part of Instacart’s executive team, she reports to company president Nilam Ganenthiran.

Aden-Wansbury (left) comes to Instacart after five years at vacation rental online marketplace Airbnb, where she most recently served as director of federal affairs. In that role, she led the San Francisco-based company’s federal government relations, public policy and national political outreach, setting strategy and leading engagement with Congress, federal agencies, national advocacy groups, trade associations, foreign embassies and other major national policy stakeholders.

In joining Instacart, Aden-Wansbury brings more than 20 years of experience in federal government and politics, public policy, campaigning and advocacy. Before Airbnb, her career includes roles such as chief of staff for former U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) and communications director for former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D., Conn.). 

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San Francisco-based Instacart noted that Aden-Wansbury comes to Instacart at a time of “unprecedented demand” for online grocery delivery service, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Besides building bridges with policymakers, she also will focus on reinforcing the role Instacart plays in providing an essential service to constituents and boosting local businesses and economies, the company said

Currently, Instacart is available to more than 85% of U.S. households and over 70% of Canadian households. The company partners with more than 400 national, regional and local retailers across North America and delivers from more than 30,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in the United States and Canada.

Instacart added that, since the beginning of March, it has launched or expanded with more than 100 retailers and introduced over 5,400 new stores to its online marketplace, including recent launches with Big Lots, Bi-Lo, Rite Aid and Staples U.S.