Megson leaves the company after only 18 months in the job. Prior to moving into the e-commerce department, she was director of the supermarket's Local stores. Megson is an experienced retail executive having joined Sainsbury's in 1990 and had previously spent 17 years with Marks & Spencer.
Sainsbury's said that her depature does not impact upon its e-commerce strategy and that it plans to continue as planned. The group has moved quickly to replace Megson, naming Robin Lassiter, senior manager for store formats, as her replacement.
Lassiter, who is promoted to department director, will report to Sara Weller, who was recently named as assistant managing director alongside Stuart Mitchell. The speed of Megson's replacement indicates that her departure had been known about for some time.
Megson was very much linked to the Taste venture, which was designed to bring together Sainsbury's and Carlton's food internet sites alongside the Carlton Food Network TV channel to create the UK's first TV and internet food and drink channel.
Lassiter comes to his new job with past e-commerce experience, having previously headed the supermarket's involvement in the business-to-business Global Net Exchange site.