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From Home Furnishing Business
Big Lots Taps Gurmeet Singh as Chief Technology Officer
July 14,
2021 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Industry 
Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) has announced that Gurmeet Singh has been appointed executive vice president, chief technology officer of Big Lots, effective July 12.
Singh succeeds Stew Wenerstrom, who will be officially retiring in October following a transition period. Singh will report directly to Bruce Thorn, president and chief executive officer of Big Lots.
Singh, who received a Ph.D. in Engineering from Rice University, has more than 30 years of experience in information technology. Most recently, he was the group chief digital officer at the Al Futtaim Group in Dubai, leading all technology, data and digital efforts for the conglomerate. Previously he served as EVP, chief digital, information and marketing Officer at 7-Eleven Inc. and prior to that held similar roles at CapitalOne, Intuit Inc. and FedEx. Singh has been recognized by industry peers with a number of awards, including the 2019 Retail Tech Innovator award.
"We're really excited to welcome Gurmeet to Big Lots and to my staff," said Bruce Thorn, president and chief executive officer of Big Lots. "Gurmeet is a proven transformation leader in the retail technology space. Big Lots was recently named the #1 retailer in Total Retail's 2020 Top Omnichannel Retailers Report, and I am confident that Gurmeet will help us continue to innovate and grow our technology platform to even better serve our customer when, where and how she wants to shop."
"As a self-professed technology enthusiast with a passion for innovation and customer experience, I couldn't be happier to join the Big Lots team at this point in its omnichannel journey," said Singh. "I look forward to leading the already strong Big Lots technology team."
Thorn added, "As much as we are looking forward to having Gurmeet join our team, we need to acknowledge Stew's more than 18 years of fantastic service to Big Lots. Before he retires in October, Stew will be able to help onboard Gurmeet and give him a huge leg up in his transition. Even after his retirement, Stew will continue to be a part of the Big Lots family, and we will miss him."