Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen Replaced Following Investigation into Personal Conduct

The Kroger leadership announced Rodney McMullen's departure as CEO after a personal conduct investigation where Ron Sargent took over as interim CEO during the reorganization period.

Kroger Co. fired Rodney McMullen as CEO due to a personal conduct investigation which impacted neither company results nor involved Kroger workers. The supermarket chain named Ron Sargent as its new interim CEO and chairman after quickly removing Rodney McMullen from his positions. As the Staples' former CEO Sargent joined Kroger's board in 2006 then filled the temporary CEO role at Kroger. During this transition period Kroger has started the process to search for a permanent CEO.

On February 21 Kroger's board discovered McMullen's "certain personal conduct" leading them to immediately hire independent counsel who directed investigations under supervision of a special board committee. McMullen's personal conduct activities did not involve operational matters at Kroger yet they conflicted with the company's business ethics standards.

During his more than ten years in leadership at Kroger McMullen surrendered all unvested equity awards from the 2019 long-term incentive plan while losing his eligibility for a bonus payment in 2024. McMullen can keep all his fully vested equity awards that existed on his departure day from Kroger.

After Kroger issued the statement, its stock declined by 1% even though the company demonstrated strong results by projecting both high-end full-year sales and exceeding expected adjusted earnings per share.