Kroger Chairman and CEO resigns after research into personal behavior

Kroger chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen resigned after an internal investigation into his personal behavior.

Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the country, said on Monday that the research into McMullen’s personal behavior was not related to the company, but turned out not to be consistent with his business ethics policy.

Board member Ronald Sargent will immediately serve as chairman and interim -CEO, immediately in force.

Sargent has been on the Kroger board since 2006 and has been the company director of the company since 2017. He worked in various roles in the supermarket chain in stores, sales, marketing, production and strategy. Sargent is also the former chairman and CEO of Staples.

McMullen, 64, started his career at Kroger in 1978 as a part -time stock operator and dredger in a store in Lexington, Kentucky. He worked his way up through the company and became Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer in 2009. McMullen was named Kroger’s CEO in 2014 and became chairman of the company the following year.

Kroger said that the board was informed of the situation on 21 February and immediately hired an external independent counselor to conduct an investigation under the supervision of a special board committee.

The company said that the behavior of MCMullen is not related to financial performance, activities or reporting and has not involved Kroger Associates.

Kroger will perform a search for his next CEO, in which Sargent agrees to stay as an interim -CEO until someone is permanently appointed in the role.

Shares of Kroger, based in Cincinnati, fell by approximately 1.3% before the opening bell.