Kroger chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after a company investigation found his personal conduct was “inconsistent with Kroger’s policy on business ethics,” the supermarket chain announced Monday.
Board member Ronald Sargent immediately stepped in as chairman and interim CEO, as a search got under way for a new CEO.
The 64-year-old McMullen had worked his way up through Kroger, starting as a part-time stock clerk and bagger in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. He rose to become chief financial officer in 1995 and chief operating officer in 2009, then was named CEO in 2014. In 2015 he took on the mantle of chairman.
Kroger said in a statement that it had been “made aware of certain personal conduct” by McMullen on Feb. 21 and “immediately retained outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation.” That was overseen by a special committee of the board of directors, the company said, adding that “Mr. McMullen’s conduct is not related to the company’s financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates.”
The chain did not specify anything about the conduct in question.
McMullen’s ouster comes after his attempt to merge the supermarket giant with smaller rival Albertsons was torpedoed by two judges in December, citing its potential to reduce competition and hike prices. The $20 billion deal would have been the largest grocery merger ever, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Kroger shares were down 3.5% ahead of Monday’s opening bell.
With News Wire Services
