McMullen out, Sargent in at helm of Kroger

Ronald Sargent has replaced Rodney McMullen at the helm of Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), parent company of King Soopers.

The company announced Monday that McMullen had resigned as chairman and CEO following a board investigation of his personal conduct that, while unrelated to the business, was inconsistent with Kroger’s policy on business ethics.

The board immediately appointed Sargent, the company’s lead independent director, to serve as chairman of the board of directors and interim CEO. The board also announced that Mark Sutton will serve as Kroger’s lead director, also effective immediately.

According to a news release, the board on Feb. 21 learned of “certain personal conduct” by McMullen and immediately retained outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation, which was overseen by a special bpard committee, according to the release. “McMullen’s conduct is not related to the Company’s financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates,” the release stated.  

Sargent has agreed to serve in his role until the appointment of the next CEO.

“As interim CEO, I am committed to working alongside our proven and experienced management team and dedicated associates to ensure Kroger continues providing exceptional value for our customers,”  Sargent said in the release. “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, before more recently serving as lead independent director. 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. I plan to be a steady but active hand in the execution of our strategy.”

Sargent has been a Kroger director since 2006 and has served as the lead director of Kroger since 2017.

Earlier in February, area Kroger subsidiary King Soopers and the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 reached a return-to-work agreement and restarted negotiations on a new labor contract, ending — at least for now — a strike that saw thousands of grocery store employees in the Boulder Valley, the Denver metro area and Pueblo stop work to march in picket lines.

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