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CINCINNATI — Kroger Co. earlier this month announced several promotions and the retirement of a key executive.
Kroger Co. earlier this month announced several promotions and the retirement of a key executive.
Four executives were promoted to executive vice president roles. They are: Mike Donnelly, as EVP of merchandising; Chris Hjelm, as EVP and chief information officer; Fred Morganthall, as EVP of retail operations; and Mike Schlotman, as EVP and chief financial officer.
Each has been assigned additional responsibilities to streamline decision making under the new organizational structure, Kroger said.
"Kroger is fortunate to have an exceptionally strong group of leaders across our company," remarked Rodney McMullen, chairman and chief executive officer of Kroger. "Our entire senior leadership team brings unmatched depth and experience to achieve our goals. This new organizational structure will help Kroger achieve laser focus to accelerate growth, improve our connection with customers and deliver value for shareholders."
Kroger announced the retirement of senior vice president of retail divisions Geoff Covert, 64, who had been with the company for nearly 20 years.
Covert is being succeeded by Sukanya Madlinger, 52, who joined Kroger in 1986 in the store management training program and held various leadership positions in operations and merchandising before being named to her most recent role as president of Kroger’s Cincinnati/Dayton division in 2010. Madlinger will be succeeded in that role by Tim Brown, president of Kroger’s Delta division, based in Memphis. Brown’s successor will be named later.
Kroger provided the following summaries of the executives promoted to executive vice president posts:
• Mike Donnelly, 57, formerly senior vice president, will continue to lead the company’s merchandising, procurement and marketing teams. He has additional responsibility for digital, manufacturing and corporate brands, supply chain, culinary innovation, The Little Clinic and Vitacost. He joined the company at Fry’s Food Stores in California in 1978 and was promoted to his current position in 2011.
• Chris Hjelm, 54, formerly senior vice president and chief information officer, will continue to serve as CIO and lead Kroger Technology, research and development, and the customer connect and support centers. He also will take on responsibilities for 84.51 degrees, indirect sourcing and corporate travel. Hjelm joined Kroger in 2005.
• Mike Schlotman, 57, formerly senior vice president and chief financial officer, continues to serve as CFO and will take on responsibilities for convenience stores, jewelry stores, data integrity and risk management. Schlotman joined the company in 1985 and was named CFO in 2000.
• Fred Morganthall, 64, formerly senior vice president of retail divisions, will lead all supermarket retail operations. Under this new structure, Kroger’s three senior vice presidents responsible for retail divisions will report to him. He began his career in grocery retail in 1978 with Spartan Stores in Michigan and joined Harris Teeter in 1986. He joined Kroger in 2014 as part of the Kroger-Harris Teeter merger.
