Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 89F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..
Tonight
Partly cloudy. Low 73F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: July 13, 2025 @ 1:54 am
Kroger CEO William Rodney McMullen speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights hearing on the proposed Kroger-Albertsons grocery store merger on Nov. 29, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington.
Kroger CEO William Rodney McMullen speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights hearing on the proposed Kroger-Albertsons grocery store merger on Nov. 29, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington.
Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after an internal investigation into his personal conduct.
Kroger, the nationÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s largest grocery chain, said Monday that the investigation into McMullenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s personal conduct was unrelated to the business, but was found to be inconsistent with its business ethics policy.
Board member Ronald Sargent will serve as chairman and interim CEO, effective immediately.
Sargent has been on KrogerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s board since 2006 and has served as the lead director of the company since 2017. HeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s worked in several roles at the grocery chain across stores, sales, marketing, manufacturing and strategy. Sargent is also the former Chairman and CEO of Staples.
McMullen, 64, began his career with Kroger in 1978 as a part-time stock clerk and bagger at a store in Lexington, Kentucky. He worked his way up through the company, becoming chief financial officer in 1995 and chief operating officer in 2009. McMullen was named KrogerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s CEO in 2014 and became the companyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s chairman the following year.
Cincinnati-based Kroger said its board was made aware of the situation on Feb. 21 and immediately hired an outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation, overseen by a special board committee.
The company said that McMullenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s conduct is not related to its financial performance, operations or reporting, and did not involve any Kroger associates.
Kroger will conduct a search for its next CEO, with Sargent agreeing to remain as interim CEO until someone is appointed to the role permanently.
Kroger shares fell more than 3.5% ahead of the opening bell Monday.
McMullenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s departure comes as Kroger is regrouping from its failed effort to merger with Albertsons. The two companies proposed what would have been the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in 2022, saying they needed to combine forces to better compete with rivals like Walmart.
But two judges halted the $24.6 billion deal in December, saying it was likely to lessen competition and raise prices. Albertsons later sued Kroger, saying it had failed to make every effort to ensure that the merger would win regulatory approval.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
