By Ben Jenkins, Staff Writer

On Feb. 9, Kroger announced that they have hired Greg Foran, the former Walmart U.S. Executive, to be their CEO. He replaced interim CEO Ron Sargent who took over for long time CEO Rodney McMullen.

Rodney McMullen suddenly resigned from his position in March 2025, though it has been shared that the actions that led to his resignation were not in relation to Kroger in any way. The company’s official statement was that his personal actions did not align with Kroger’s business ethics.

Foran has a strong reputation in the grocery industry. He got his start in the industry as a teen, working for an Australia-based grocery store, Woolworths. Foran quickly moved up the ranks and became a manager for the store. In 2011 he left Woolworths for Walmart.

Just one year after moving to Walmart he became the CEO of Walmart’s China division. He then took over as the CEO of Walmart Asia. 

Following his time working for Walmart Asia he took over as the CEO for Walmart U.S. During his time as CEO for Walmart U.S., he also served as the CEO for New Zealand’s largest airline, Air New Zealand.

He took over for Air New Zealand at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. During his time there he helped weather the storm of the pandemic that put many other industry competitors under. 

At Walmart, Foran launched Walmart Academy, which is an in-house training program. It trains associates to become managers, teaches technical skills and improves operation efficiency. As well as Walmart Academy, Foran helped the grocery giant largely upscale their ecommerce sales. “By aligning tools, processes and training, he helped integrate online and in-store operations to improve fulfillment speed and overall customer experiences”, Kroger stated in Foran’s biography.

As the world continues to shift more to e-commerce instead of brick-and-mortar stores, Kroger was looking for someone with experience in the e-commerce space. 

Foran will be Kroger’s 12th CEO in their 143-year history. He will also be the first Kroger CEO that was not hired from within.  This shift in leadership could have major internal effects at the company. 

“The way corporate culture is set is determined by the CEO,” Xavier Economics professor, Dr. Ellen Heekin said.  “Having a new set of eyes on the company could help set a new culture for Kroger after the problems with their CEO position over the past few years.”

Kroger has already felt the positive impacts of their new CEO. Kroger’s stock has jumped up 5.2% in less than a month under Foran’s leadership. Market reactions like this are not unusual when leadership changes occur.

“Sometimes the market is anticipating it, but there can absolutely be changes, it depends on the person and their role,” Heekin said.

Foran’s appointment as Kroger’s new CEO marks a major turning point for the United State’s third largest grocery store brand. Foran brings over 40 years of experience in the industry and a laundry list of successes with him.