Rodney McMullen, who began his career at Kroger as a part-time stock clerk in 1978 and has served as Chairman and CEO of the supermarket giant since 2015, has resigned following an internal investigation into his personal conduct that, “while unrelated to the business, was inconsistent with Kroger’s Policy on Business Ethics,” according to a company statement.
The Kroger board has appointed Lead Director Ronald “Ron” Sargent to serve as its Chairman and Interim CEO, effective immediately, and has formed a search committee and hired a nationally recognized firm to search for the company’s next leader. Additionally, Mark Sutton will now serve as lead independent director of the Kroger board.
On Feb. 21, 2025, the board was made aware of certain personal conduct by McMullen and immediately retained outside independent counsel to investigate. A special board committee oversaw the investigation. The Kroger statement stressed that McMullen’s conduct is not related to the company’s financial performance, operations or reporting, nor did it involve any Kroger associates.
Interim CEO: Retail Veteran that Led Staples
Sargent has been a Kroger director since 2006 and has served as lead director since 2017. He spent the first 10 years of his career at Kroger working in multiple roles across stores, sales, marketing, manufacturing and strategy. Overall, Sargent brings 35 years of retail experience to the company, including serving as Chairman and CEO of Staples from 2002 to 2016.
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“Kroger has been a special place throughout my retail career after spending summers in college working in stores, as well as my first 10 years after business school at corporate headquarters,” said Sargent in a statement. “My decades here have given me a full appreciation of what makes Kroger unique, and I am excited to work even more closely with this talented team.”
Kroger will report its Q4 and full-year 2024 results on March 6, 2025. The retailer expects full-year comparable sales without fuel to be at the high end of its guidance range.
