Omnichannel

PetSmart appoints Jesica Duarte as EVP, chief commercial officer

Photo: PetSmart

August 15, 2025

PetSmart has appointed Jesica Duarte as executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

Duarte will oversee merchandising, proprietary brands, merchandise planning & allocation, digital, and marketing organization, according to a press release.

"Jesica is a strategic and growth-minded leader, with an impressive career tenure working across successful retail brands" Ken Hicks, PetSmart president and CEO, said in the release. "She has led teams through significant business and process transformations, while delivering strong business results and her expertise will be invaluable as we work to advance our long-range plan."

Duarte has more than 30 years of leadership experience and most recently served as group vice president, national merchandising for the Albertsons Companies and spent the nearly 12 years prior at Walmart.

"This is an exciting time at PetSmart, and I'm thrilled to be joining this impressive team at such a pivotal time in the business," Duarte said in the release. "PetSmart has such a special and unique community of associates, pet parents and pets who all share the same passion and I'm looking forward to being a part of that. I'm equally pleased to bring together my own passions for merchandising, marketing and meeting the customer where they are with omnichannel capabilities and to contribute to the work being done to make PetSmart the favorite pet retailer."