Kroger on Monday named former Walmart executive Greg Foran as its next CEO, a little less than a year after the resignation of the grocer’s embattled leader.
Foran spent six years leading Walmart U.S., a position he exited in 2019. While at the retail giant, he is credited with boosting the company’s digital capabilities by introducing online ordering and pickup.
He most recently served as CEO of Air New Zealand, leading a digital transformation there and steering the airline through the pandemic.
“Greg is a highly respected operator who knows how to run large-scale retail businesses, strengthen store execution and lead high-performing teams,” Kroger Board Chairman Ron Sargent, who had served as the grocer’s interim CEO, said in a statement. “His leadership style, focus on the customer, commitment to associations and disciplined approach to execution are the perfect fit for Kroger. The Board is confident Greg is the right leader to guide Kroger into its next chapter.”
The appointment caps a tumultuous period for the Cincinnati-based grocer, which operates banners including Ralphs, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, Harris Teeter and more.
In October 2022, Kroger announced plans to acquire rival grocer Albertsons for $24.6 billion. The following year, the companies announced a divestiture deal to sell 413 grocery stores and other assets to C&S Wholesale Grocers, in a bid to assuage federal regulators over antitrust concerns.
After much legal wrangling, Albertsons officially terminated the proposed merger in late 2024.
Last March, Rodney McMullen resigned as Kroger’s CEO following a Board investigation into his personal conduct that was deemed unrelated to the business but “inconsistent with Kroger’s Policy on Business Ethics,” the grocer said at the time. The resignation ended McMullen’s nearly 50-year history with Kroger, where he rose through the ranks from stock clerk to chief executive. He had held the CEO post since 2014.
Foran, who was born in New Zealand, started his supermarket career at 17 as a shelf-stacker at Australia-based Woolworths. Just three years later, he was managing a supermarket, attaining increasingly more responsibility within the organization.
Hiring a leader with Foran’s extensive technological expertise makes sense as Kroger looks to compete with the tech-enabled grocery offerings of market leader Walmart.
“Kroger is one of the most dynamic companies in retail,” Foran said in a statement. "The company is built on a strong foundation, supported by a talented leadership team, and caring associates who are dedicated to the customers and communities they serve. At this moment in Kroger's journey, I can honestly say this is the best job on the planet. I look forward to working with the Board and the entire team to build on this momentum, continue raising the bar for customers, and deliver long-term value for customers, associates and shareholders."
Kroger said it will provide more details on the leadership transition during its earnings call on March 5. It said it is reaffirming its previously issued guidance for fiscal year 2025 and “remains committed to delivering sustainable value for shareholders.”
Kroger operates more than 2,700 grocery stores; 32 food manufacturing facilities; 2,270 pharmacies; 1,700 fuel centers and employees more than 420,000 workers.
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