Kroger chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned following an investigation of his personal conduct that was found to be inconsistent with the company’s ethics policy.
The board retained outside independent counsel to conduct the investigation after being made aware of the conduct in late February. A special board committee was also formed to oversee the process.
The company noted that McMullen’s conduct was unrelated to its financial performance and operations and did not involve any Kroger associates.
The board has started the search for the next CEO and appointed lead director Ronald Sargent as chairman and interim CEO, effective immediately.
Sargent has been a Kroger director since 2006 and has served as the lead director of Kroger since 2017.
The company also named Mark Sutton as lead independent director.
Kroger expects full-year identical sales without fuel to be at the high end of its guidance range. The company will report its fourth-quarter and full-year results later this week.
In January, Kroger agreed to pay $110 million to resolve a lawsuit over the opioid epidemic in Kentucky.
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