The Kroger Co. announced that Chairman Rodney McMullen has resigned from the Company following a Board investigation of his personal conduct that, while unrelated to the business, was inconsistent with Kroger's Policy on Business Ethics. The Board has appointed Lead Director Ronald "Ron" Sargent, age 69, to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors and interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
The Board also announced that Mark Sutton will serve as Kroger's lead independent director, also effective immediately. On February 21, the Board was made aware of certain personal conduct by Mr. McMullen and immediately retained outside independent counsel to conduct an investigation, which was overseen by a special Board committee. Mr. McMullen's conduct is not related to the Company's financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates.
Mr. Sargent has been a Kroger director since 2006 and has served as the lead director of Kroger since 2017. He spent the first ten years of his professional career at Kroger, working in several roles across stores, sales, marketing, manufacturing and strategy. Mr. Sargent is a veteran retail operator and leader with 35 years of experience, including as the Chairman and CEO of Staples Inc. from 2002 to 2016 after joining the company in 1989.
He currently serves on the board of Wells Fargo & Company, where he is Chair of the Human Resources Committee, and the board of Five Below Inc. Mr. Sargent previously served as a director of The Home Depot Inc. and Mattel Inc. In connection with his new role, Mr. Sargent will step down as the Lead Director of the Company's Board and from the Board's Audit Committee, Corporate Governance Committee, and Public Responsibilities Committee during the time of his service as the interim Chief Executive Officer.
