KROGER on Monday named former Walmart executive Greg Foran as its CEO, capping a yearlong search following the ouster of Rodney McMullen last March.
Foran was the CEO of Air New Zealand for about five years until October 2025. Between 2014 and 2019, he was the president and CEO of Walmart’s US operations.
At Walmart, Foran was credited for turning around its United States business as he managed more than 4,600 stores, while helping build its digital business by introducing online ordering and pickup. Under his leadership, Walmart reported 20 quarters of comparable sales growth.
Focus on digital growth
“[We] believe he (Foran) brings instant credibility to Kroger after his demonstrated success turning around Walmart US store operations,” Evercore ISI analyst Michael Montani said.
Kroger, in December, narrowed its annual sales target signaling that Americans were turning more selective while navigating persistent inflation.
“Foran would inherit a far more complex multi-banner portfolio than Walmart’s unified chain,” Morgan Stanley analysts said.
Foran’s focus, they said, would likely center on strengthening in-store execution and evaluating whether Kroger has the tools to accelerate digital growth.
The shares of the company, which reaffirmed its fiscal year 2025 forecast, rose as much as 8.4 percent on Monday, before paring gains to close up 1.2 percent.
In an SEC filing, Kroger said Foran will receive an annual base salary of $1.5 million, alongside a performance-based annual cash incentive of up to 200 percent of the base salary and a long-term incentive compensation of $12 million.
During its search for a new CEO, Kroger’s board appointed lead director Ronald Sargent, a former top boss at office supplies chain Staples for more than a decade, as interim CEO. The company said Sargent will continue as board chairman.
McMullen exited last year after leading the grocer for more than 11 years, a period during which Kroger’s stock price more than tripled in value.
His departure followed Kroger abandoning a two-year attempt to acquire Albertsons for $25 billion, a deal he had strongly backed as a means to fight higher prices.