Kroger Names New Merchandising/Marketing Chief
There is a change in the merchandising and marketing ranks at The Kroger Co. as Stuart Aitken is stepping down from his role as senior vice president and chief merchandising and marketing officer to pursue a new opportunity.
To fill the opening, the grocer has named Mary Ellen Adcock, Kroger's senior vice president of operations, as its new chief merchandising and marketing officer. Aitken will remain with the company through the end of 2024.
"Mary Ellen is a respected leader both within Kroger and our industry," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "Her deep strategic experience in her past 25 years with Kroger in roles of increasing responsibility will continue to drive value for customers and growth for our business and associates."
"On behalf of the Kroger Board and management team, I want to thank Stuart for his work to evolve Kroger's brand while bringing exciting, innovating products to our shelves," said McMullen. "He played an instrumental role in overseeing dunnhumby's integration and establishing 84.51º.”
Adcock has served as Kroger's senior vice president of operations since 2019. In this role, she leads strategic operations for the company's more than 2,700 stores across 35 states supporting more than 416,000 associates and serving 11 million customers. Adcock oversees customer experience, associate experience, asset protection, process change, and productivity improvement initiatives and is responsible for maintaining the highest food safety and regulatory standards.
She joined Kroger in 1999 in the company's manufacturing division, where she held several leadership positions. In 2009, she was promoted to vice president of Deli/Bakery Manufacturing, and in 2012, Adcock became vice president of Natural Foods. In 2014, she led merchandising and operations for the Columbus division. Adcock was promoted to group vice president of retail operations in 2016 and named senior vice president of retail operations in 2019.
Additionally, continuing in their current roles as leaders of the company's operations are Senior Vice Presidents of Retail Operations Valarie Jabbar and Kenny Kimball, who oversee Kroger operating divisions, and Group Vice President of Retail Operations Paula Kash, who leads enterprise retail operations, which includes asset protection, corporate food technology, and e-commerce operations. Each will now report to McMullen.
