Will Kroger’s next CEO be a woman? An insider or someone new? An internet wiz or someone all about stores?
Nearly three months after the abrupt departure of CEO Rodney McMullen, the Cincinnati-based supermarket giant hasn’t offered any new information on its search for a successor. Interim CEO Ron Sargent, 69, a Kroger board member and former Staples CEO, told Wall Street analysts the retailer would conduct a national search, but would also consider internal candidates.
Kroger officials declined to comment on the company’s ongoing search for a new CEO.
Still, among Kroger’s 12 top executives, four are women and two of them, Mary Adcock and Valerie Jabbar, have critical operations experience that might put them in the running for the top spot. Both have experience overseeing Kroger divisions that include the management of thousands of stores.
If the Kroger board of directors is leaning toward picking an outsider for the top job, the company could look for a top executive (male or female) with experience at a rival, such as Walmart or Costco, or lure top talent from a consumer products supplier, such as Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble.