May 28 (Reuters) - Delivery platform Instacart

on Wednesday said it has appointed company insider Chris Rogers

as chief executive officer, effective August 15, as the current

head Fidji Simo is set to exit to join OpenAI.

The new CEO appointment follows Simo's surprise appointment

as OpenAI's chief of applications earlier this month.

Rogers, who currently serves as the platform's chief

business officer, had previously served as the managing director

for Apple Canada.

"We'll invent the future of grocery with our partners by

continuing to invest in cutting-edge enterprise tools and

technologies, as well as enhance our leading advertising

ecosystem," said Rogers in a blog post related to the

appointment.

Instacart, also known as Maplebear ( CART ), said Simo will stay on

as chair to support the transition. Simo is set to start her new

job at OpenAI later this year.

"Because everything we (Instacart) do is in partnership with

our retail and brand partners, there isn't a single thing we've

done in the last few years that Chris hasn't had his

fingerprints on," said Simo in a memo.

Instacart had forecast upbeat quarterly core profit earlier

this month, after beating the first-quarter core profit estimate

on resilient demand for groceries and food on its delivery

platform as more people shop online.

"From our retail enablement strategy and omnichannel

expansion to the massive growth and evolution of our advertising

platform, Chris has been a driving force behind all of these

initiatives," Simo added.