Ex-Walmart CTO Joins Pinterest

Walmart CTO Jeremy King is moving to Pinterest. According to CNBC, King will be the new head of engineering at social media company Pinterest, where he’ll be in charge of the site’s “visual discovery engine” that recommends posts and images to users.

King comes to Pinterest ahead of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). Last month, the company made a confidential filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an IPO. The social media company is said to be looking for a $12 billion minimum valuation, and is reportedly looking at a listing in June.

Earlier this week, it was reported that King was stepping down from his position at Walmart, where — for eight years — he worked to boost the retailer’s technology presence to compete with eCommerce rivals, specifically Amazon.

“Jeremy joined Walmart during the inception of ‘a startup within the world’s largest company’ — now known as Walmart Labs, an important enabler for our business,” according to an internal memo obtained by CNBC. “Ever since then, he’s had a laser focus on building capabilities that empower our associates and better serve our customers.”

The company added that, during King’s time at Walmart, important technology partnerships were created with Microsoft, Google, NVIDIA and others, which will carry its digital transformation into the future. In addition, King helped build and strengthen relationships with organizations like Grace Hopper, Girls Who Code and Path Forward.

Fiona Tan, Walmart’s current senior vice president of customer technology, will be stepping up into an “elevated role” while the company looks for a replacement. King’s last day will be March 29.

“While Jeremy will be missed, he leaves us with an outstanding leadership team and organization well-positioned to advance Walmart’s strategic priorities seamlessly and with excellence. We wish him the very best in the next phase of his journey,” the memo stated.