Kroger names UK grad as its new president

The nation's largest traditional grocery store chain said Thursday that a University of Kentucky graduate will be the company's new president.

The Kroger Co. announced at its annual shareholders meeting that Williamstown native W. Rodney McMullen, currently vice chairman, will succeed London native Don McGeorge as president and chief operating officer on Aug. 1.

McGeorge, 55, is retiring after 32 years at the Cincinnati-based company. He will remain about six months as a special adviser to David B. Dillon, the chairman and chief executive, during the transition.

McMullen, 48, has been a key financial strategist for nearly two decades for a company that had $76 billion in sales last year. He was named vice chairman in 2003.

McMullen first worked for Kroger in 1978, as a part-time stock clerk at the chain's former location in Lexington's Eastland Shopping Center on Winchester Road. He said Thursday that McGeorge was one of his first managers. McMullen has been a full-time employee since 1982.

McMullen earned bachelor's degrees in accounting and business administration in finance from UK in 1981, and he earned a master's degree in accounting from UK in 1982. He was inducted into the UK Gatton College of Business and Economics in 2005.

This story was originally published June 26, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kroger names UK grad as its new president."