Kroger CEO McMullen resigns after personal conduct probe

(Sharecast News) - US supermarket chain Kroger said on Monday that chairman and chief executive Rodney McMullen has resigned after a board investigation found that his personal conduct was "inconsistent" with the company's "policy on business ethics".

Lead director Ronald Sargent will serve as chairman and interim CEO with immediate effect, while Mark Sutton will become Kroger's lead independent director, also effective immediately.

Kroger said that on 21 February, it was made aware of "certain personal conduct" by McMullen and immediately retained outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation, which was overseen by a special board committee.

It pointed out that McMullen's conduct is not related to the company's financial performance, operations or reporting, and did not involve any Kroger associates.

Sargent, who has been a Kroger director since 2006 and has served as the lead director of Kroger since 2017, spent the first ten years of his professional career at Kroger, working in several roles across stores, sales, marketing, manufacturing and strategy.

He is a veteran retail operator and leader with 35 years of experience, including as the chairman and CEO of Staples from 2002 to 2016 after joining the company in 1989.

He currently serves on the board of Wells Fargo & Company, where he is chair of the Human Resources Committee, and the board of Five Below.

Kroger said it expects full-year identical sales without fuel to be at the high end of its guidance range and full-year adjusted earnings per share to be slightly above the high end of its guidance range.

The company is due to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results on 6 March.

At 1520 GMT, the shares were down 1.3% at $63.96.