Home Depot Taps KPM's Christine Foster to Lead Orange Apron Media
The Home Depot is tapping a veteran of Kroger Precision Marketing to lead the next phase of growth for its retail media business.
Christine Foster will join the home improvement retailer as general manager and vice president of Orange Apron Media (OAM), effective Sept. 8. Foster will oversee the retailer media network’s (RMN) strategy and operations, with a focus on accelerating revenue growth, expanding brand partnerships and driving measurable sales impact.
Foster brings 20 years of experience spanning retail media, digital marketing, content creation and media strategy to the role. She most recently served as group vice president of commercial strategy and operations at Kroger Precision Marketing, where she led the grocer’s insights, digital advertising sales, incentives and operations teams.
Throughout her career, Foster has held leadership roles across agency and enterprise organizations, working with brands to connect business strategy and performance marketing. She also serves on industry advisory boards, including The Path to Purchase Institute and The Trade Desk.
At OAM, Foster will report to Molly Battin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of The Home Depot.
“Christine’s deep experience, paired with a proven track record of building high-performing teams and driving measurable growth, makes her the right leader to grow Orange Apron Media into an even more powerful engine for our brand partners,” Battin said in a media release. “I know her vision and leadership will help us accelerate our strategy and unlock new value for the brands and customers we serve.”
Foster is taking the reins of OAM as RMNs increasingly look beyond their core supplier bases for growth.
The Home Depot’s RMN connects brands with home improvement shoppers through advertising opportunities across digital and physical channels. OAM leverages customer insights from more than 2,300 stores and the retailer’s e-commerce business to help advertisers reach DIY and professional audiences closer to the point of purchase.
The network offers both managed-service solutions and Orange Access, a self-service portal for executing campaigns.
The Home Depot has also been expanding OAM’s opportunities for non-endemic brands, a growth area Foster specifically highlighted in her new role.
“I look forward to continuing this momentum alongside the talented team — expanding our media capabilities, removing friction for our partners, and delivering impactful, highly relevant experiences for our shoppers.” Foster said in the release.
Battin said Foster is joining at an important point in OAM’s evolution, as the network seeks to create new opportunities for suppliers and an expanding range of non-endemic advertisers.
Foster’s appointment comes as retailers continue building media businesses around first-party shopper data, omnichannel reach and increasingly measurable connections between advertising and sales.
