US retailer Kroger has appointed Ronald Sargent as interim chief executive officer, following the resignation of Rodney McMullen.
Sargent, a lead director at Kroger, will also take up the role of chair of the board of directors, the company noted.
Sargent will serve as interim chief executive until the appointment of the next CEO.
The board of directors has formed a search committee and engaged a nationally recognised firm to commence the search for Kroger's next CEO.
Mark Sutton will serve as Kroger's lead independent director, effective immediately.
Sargent commented, "Kroger has been a special place throughout my retail career after spending summers in college working in stores, as well as my first ten 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."
Ronald Sargent
Sargent is a seasoned retail professional, who has served as a Kroger director since 2006 and lead director since 2017.
He spent the first ten years of his professional journey at Kroger, working in several roles across stores, sales, marketing, manufacturing and strategy.
He has 35 years of experience in the retail sector and has served as chair and CEO of Staples, Inc. from 2002 to 2016 after joining the company in 1989.
Currently, he serves on the board of Wells Fargo & Company, as chair of the human resources committee, and the board of Five Below, Inc.
As part of the new role, he will step down from his service on the audit committee, the corporate governance committee and the public responsibilities committee.
Sutton commented, "Over the years, Ron [Ronald Sargent] has played an integral role in the development and approval of Kroger's strategy, which has led us to the position of strength where we are today.
"Kroger will continue to deliver for our customers, invest in our associates, strengthen our communities, and reward our shareholders under Ron's leadership."
Sargent succeeds chairman and chief executive Rodney McMullen, who has resigned from the company.
Kroger expects full-year identical sales, excluding 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 US retail giant will report its fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results on 6 March 2025.
