Gregory S. Foran
Chief Executive Officer
Executive
0 yr
7 reports
Leadership change Gregory S. Foran became Chief Executive Officer (from CEO, Air New Zealand) · 10-K filed 2026-03-31
The Kroger Co. ·KR
No COO: Divisional presidents bypass operations layer
Retailing · Fortune #25 · Divisional structure · 414K employees · Cincinnati, OH
View as of:
6
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 10)
2.1
Avg span
tight
3
Max depth
flat for 414K emp
3.8 yr
Avg tenure
↓ 2.4yr from FY2024
60%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2026-01-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$147.6B
Operating income
$1.9B
Net income
$1.0B
Total assets
$50.0B
Shares out
613M
Sourced from The Kroger Co. 10-K · filed 2026-03-31 ↗ View on SEC
Interactive org chart
The Kroger Co. organizational chart
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Kroger’s leadership structure is distinctive for what it lacks: a Chief Operating Officer. Instead, merchandising, digital, people, finance and legal leaders report directly to the CEO, creating a broad span of control and reinforcing divisional autonomy across the grocery giant.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Gregory S. Foran joined as Chief Executive Officer
Appointed CEO effective February 10, 2026.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief Operating Officer Introduce a COO to centralize store, supply chain and manufacturing operations, reducing CEO span.
- Move Digital Under Operations Shift Digital leadership to report to a new operations layer to better integrate stores and e-commerce.
Atlas work this supports
- Connect Workday or UKG Get these analytics for YOUR org — tenure, span of control, headcount, automatically from your HRIS.
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- Plan a Reorg Use this as a starting point. Model scenarios, compare structures, present options to your board.
The people
Who's running this
7 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
Mary Ellen Adcock
Executive Vice President & Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer
Merchandising & Marketing
5 yr
0 reports
internal
Yael Cosset
Executive Vice President & Chief Digital Officer
Digital
7 yr
0 reports
David J.C. Kennerley
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Finance
1 yr
1 reports
internal
Timothy A. Massa
Executive Vice President & Associate Experience Officer
Human Resources
6 yr
0 reports
internal
George H. Vincent
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
Legal
4 yr
0 reports
Ronald L. Sargent
Chairman of the Board
Board
3 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
W. Rodney McMullen $15.6M
- Base salary
- $1.43M
- Stock awards
- $10.60M
- Option awards
- $2.65M
- Other
- $741K
- Fiscal year
- FY2024
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The skin in the game
Beneficial ownership
Insider stock holdings and the company's ownership requirements for executives and directors. Disclosed in the most recent DEF 14A.
Stock ownership requirements
6×CEO base salary
CEO required to hold six times base salary in company stock.
The businesses
How The Kroger Co. divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Merchandising & Marketing
20K employees
EVP & Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer (Mary Ellen Adcock)
Oversees product assortment, pricing strategy and brand marketing across Kroger banners.
Digital
5K employees
EVP & Chief Digital Officer (Yael Cosset)
Leads e-commerce, data, personalization and digital customer experience initiatives.
Associate Experience
3K employees
EVP & Associate Experience Officer (Timothy A. Massa)
Responsible for HR, labor relations, training and associate engagement.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
Kroger operates without a Chief Operating Officer, an uncommon choice for a 400,000+ employee retailer.
Instead, major commercial, digital, people, finance and legal leaders report directly to the CEO, creating a broad CEO span and reinforcing divisional autonomy. This structure emphasizes brand, merchandising and associate experience alongside digital growth rather than centralized operations.
The absence of a COO means operational accountability is distributed across divisional and functional leaders. Merchandising, digital and people leadership sit at equal footing, reflecting Kroger’s strategy of integrating stores, supply chain and digital rather than running them as a single operations stack.
- No COO role
- High CEO span of control
- Strong internal promotion at EVP level
The comparison
How The Kroger Co. stacks up
Compared with peers like Walmart and Costco, Kroger’s executive structure is notably flatter and less operations-centric. Walmart and Target both employ strong COOs or equivalent roles to manage scale operations, while Kroger relies on direct CEO oversight. This increases CEO span but preserves divisional flexibility. …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
Avg C-suite tenure
Has COO / Has CAIO
The Kroger Co. — no COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
Kroger appointed Gregory Foran as CEO in February 2026 following W. Rodney McMullen’s 2025 resignation.
- new
- departed
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
10-K filed 2026-03-31
- CEO
- Gregory S. Foran
- CEO span
- 6
- C-suite
- 6
- Avg tenure
- 3.5 yr
CEO transition year with new external hire.
Named executive officers (5)
- Gregory S. Foran - CEO since 2026
- David J.C. Kennerley - CFO since 2025
- Mary Ellen Adcock - Chief Merchant & Marketing Officer since 2020
- Yael Cosset - Chief Digital Officer since 2018
- Timothy A. Massa - Associate Experience Officer since 2019
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2025-05-15
- CEO
- W. Rodney McMullen
- CEO span
- 6
- C-suite
- 6
- Avg tenure
- 6.2 yr
Stable internal leadership prior to CEO resignation.
Named executive officers (5)
- W. Rodney McMullen - Chairman & CEO since 2014
- Todd Foley - Interim CFO since 2024
- Mary Ellen Adcock - Chief Merchant & Marketing Officer since 2020
- Yael Cosset - Chief Digital Officer since 2018
- Timothy A. Massa - Associate Experience Officer since 2019
Year-over-year changes
A major CEO transition reset average tenure while preserving overall structure.
- CEO span: 6 → 6
- C-suite size: 6 → 6
- Avg tenure: 6.2 → 3.5 yr
- new Gregory S. Foran - Chief Executive Officer (was CEO, Air New Zealand) (10-K filed 2026-03-31)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of The Kroger Co.?
Gregory S. Foran has served as Kroger’s CEO since February 10, 2026.
What type of organizational structure does The Kroger Co. use?
Kroger operates a divisional structure with strong functional leadership at the corporate level.
How many direct reports does The Kroger Co.'s CEO have?
The CEO has six direct reports, spanning finance, merchandising, digital, people, legal and the board chair.
How has The Kroger Co.'s leadership changed recently?
Kroger appointed Gregory Foran as CEO in February 2026 following the resignation of long-time CEO W. Rodney McMullen in 2025.
Does The Kroger Co. have a COO?
No. Kroger does not have a Chief Operating Officer, with operational responsibility distributed across divisional and functional leaders.
Sources
- 8-K Filing, Feb 2026
- 8-K Filing, Mar 2025
- SEC EDGAR: The Kroger Co. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: The Kroger Co. 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
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APA 7th
Creately. (2026). The Kroger Co. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/kroger/MLA 9th
"The Kroger Co. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/kroger/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "The Kroger Co. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/kroger/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
The Kroger Co.. 10-K. Filed 2026-03-31. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/56873/000110465926037723/kr-20260131x10k.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/kroger/ · last updated 2026-04-01