Rodney McMullen

Rodney McMullen
Born	William Rodney McMullen 1961
Birthplace	Pineville, Kentucky, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Businessman
Title	Former Chairman and CEO of Kroger
Known for	Chairman and CEO of The Kroger Company (2014–2025)
Education	University of Kentucky (BS, MS)
Spouse(s)	Kathryn King McMullen

William Rodney McMullen (born 1961) is an American businessman who served as the chairman and chief executive officer of The Kroger Company, one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States, from 2014 until his abrupt resignation in March 2025. A career-long Kroger employee who joined the company as a part-time stock clerk while attending college, McMullen rose through virtually every major division of the organization over more than three decades before reaching its top leadership position. Under his tenure, Kroger expanded its digital grocery capabilities, pursued a major but ultimately unsuccessful merger with Albertsons Companies, and navigated the operational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. His departure from the company in 2025 drew significant public and legal attention after Kroger disclosed that an internal investigation had found McMullen's personal conduct to be inconsistent with the company's policies on business ethics. As part of his departure, McMullen forfeited all unvested equity and bonuses totaling approximately $11 million.

Early Life

William Rodney McMullen was born in 1961 in Pineville, a small community in Bell County in the southeastern corner of Kentucky. Pineville, located in the heart of Appalachia, was a rural community with limited economic opportunities. McMullen's upbringing in this environment has been cited as formative in shaping his career trajectory. He began working at a young age and took a part-time position as a stock clerk at a Kroger store while pursuing his college education, marking the beginning of what would become a decades-long association with the grocery retailer.

McMullen's rise from a part-time grocery store employee to the chief executive of a Fortune 500 company became a frequently cited element of his professional biography during his years of corporate leadership. His early work experience at Kroger provided him with ground-level knowledge of the company's retail operations, which he later drew upon as he advanced through its corporate ranks.

Education

McMullen attended the University of Kentucky, where he earned both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master's degree in accounting. His academic background in accounting provided the financial and analytical foundation that would characterize much of his early career trajectory at Kroger, where he initially served in financial and strategic planning roles. McMullen maintained a connection with the University of Kentucky throughout his career, and the institution has recognized him as a notable alumnus.

Career

Early Career at Kroger

McMullen joined Kroger as a part-time stock clerk while attending college, and upon completing his education, he transitioned into a full-time corporate role with the company. His accounting background positioned him for work in Kroger's financial operations, and he progressed through a series of roles of increasing responsibility within the organization. Over the course of more than three decades, McMullen worked in multiple divisions across the company, accumulating broad operational experience that encompassed financial planning, strategic development, and general management.

McMullen rose through the corporate hierarchy steadily. He served in a number of senior executive positions before being named president and chief operating officer, a role that positioned him as the leading internal candidate to succeed David Dillon as chief executive officer. By the time of his appointment to the top position, McMullen had spent his entire professional career at Kroger — a fact that distinguished him as a deeply embedded company insider with institutional knowledge spanning the organization's various business units.

Appointment as CEO

McMullen was named chief executive officer of The Kroger Company in 2014, succeeding David Dillon. He also assumed the role of chairman of the board of directors. His appointment was viewed as a continuation of Kroger's longstanding practice of promoting leadership from within the organization. At the time of his elevation to CEO, Kroger was already one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, operating thousands of stores across dozens of states under various banners.

Under McMullen's leadership, Kroger pursued a strategy that emphasized investment in digital and e-commerce capabilities, customer data analytics, and private-label brands. The company sought to position itself competitively against both traditional grocery rivals and the growing threat from online retail giants. McMullen oversaw the expansion of Kroger's pickup and delivery services, which became increasingly important as consumer shopping habits shifted toward online ordering.

COVID-19 Pandemic Response

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began affecting the United States in early 2020, presented extraordinary challenges and demands for grocery retailers. As an essential business, Kroger's stores remained open throughout the pandemic, and the company's workforce was on the front lines of serving communities during lockdowns and supply chain disruptions. McMullen led the company through this period, which saw a significant surge in grocery demand, particularly through digital channels.

McMullen's compensation during this period drew scrutiny. In 2020, Kroger reported that McMullen received a 21 percent pay increase. The disparity between executive compensation and worker pay at Kroger became a subject of public discussion. In 2022, McMullen was paid approximately $19 million, while the median Kroger worker earned approximately $28,600, according to company filings reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

A 2021 CNBC analysis identified Kroger as having one of the largest CEO-to-worker pay gaps among major U.S. companies. A 2024 report by the Institute for Policy Studies further examined executive compensation relative to worker pay at major corporations, including Kroger under McMullen's leadership.

Proposed Kroger-Albertsons Merger

One of the most significant strategic initiatives of McMullen's tenure was the proposed merger between Kroger and Albertsons Companies, announced in October 2022. The deal, valued at approximately $24.6 billion, would have combined the two largest traditional supermarket chains in the United States, creating a grocery retail entity with thousands of stores nationwide. McMullen was a leading proponent of the merger, arguing that the combined company would be better positioned to compete with large-scale competitors such as Walmart and Amazon.

The proposed merger faced significant regulatory opposition. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit to block the deal, citing concerns about reduced competition in the grocery industry, potential price increases for consumers, and the impact on unionized grocery workers. Several state attorneys general also filed legal challenges against the merger. After extended regulatory and legal battles, the merger was ultimately blocked and abandoned. The collapse of the deal represented a major setback for Kroger's growth strategy under McMullen and led to litigation between the two companies, as Albertsons filed suit against Kroger alleging breach of the merger agreement.

Resignation in 2025

On March 3, 2025, Kroger announced that McMullen had resigned from his positions as chairman and chief executive officer, effective immediately. The company stated that an internal investigation had determined that McMullen's "personal conduct was inconsistent with Kroger's policies on business ethics." The announcement was abrupt and provided few specific details regarding the nature of the conduct in question. Ron Sargent, an independent member of Kroger's board of directors, was named interim chairman, and the board initiated a search for a permanent successor.

As part of his departure, McMullen forfeited all of his unvested equity and bonuses, totaling approximately $11 million. The forfeiture suggested that the separation was not a voluntary retirement under favorable terms but rather a departure prompted by findings that carried significant consequences for McMullen's financial interests in the company.

The circumstances surrounding McMullen's resignation became entangled with the ongoing litigation between Kroger and Albertsons. In the Albertsons lawsuit, the plaintiff sought to obtain details about the nature of McMullen's ethics violations, arguing that information about his conduct could be relevant to the case. In August 2025, a county judge in Ohio initially ordered McMullen to testify about the reasons for his resignation.

However, the order was subsequently reversed. Later in August 2025, a judge ruled that McMullen did not have to answer questions about the details of his resignation, characterizing the information as potentially "embarrassing." In September 2025, two courts upheld the ruling that McMullen was not required to reveal the reasoning behind his departure from Kroger, allowing him to keep the specific details confidential.

As of early 2026, Kroger had not yet named a permanent successor to McMullen. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported in February 2026 that the company was conducting an extended search for a new CEO, looking outside the organization for candidates to lead the Fortune 50 company following both the failed Albertsons merger and the circumstances of McMullen's departure.

Compensation

McMullen's executive compensation was a recurring subject of public and media scrutiny during his tenure as Kroger's CEO. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, McMullen received a 21 percent increase in his total compensation. In 2022, his total compensation was reported as approximately $19 million, while Kroger's median employee earned approximately $28,600 annually, resulting in a CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio of more than 600 to 1.

This pay disparity placed Kroger among the companies with the largest gaps between CEO and worker compensation in the United States. A 2021 CNBC analysis highlighted Kroger's CEO-to-worker wage gap as one of the most pronounced among major American corporations. The Institute for Policy Studies included Kroger's compensation structure in its 2024 "Executive Excess" report, which examined the growing divide between executive pay and worker earnings across corporate America.

McMullen's compensation details were publicly available through Kroger's annual proxy statements and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Independent compensation tracking sources documented his salary, bonuses, and stock options throughout his tenure as CEO.

Upon his resignation in March 2025, McMullen forfeited approximately $11 million in unvested equity and bonuses as part of the terms of his departure from Kroger.

Personal Life

McMullen is married to Kathryn King McMullen. The couple has resided in the Cincinnati, Ohio metropolitan area, where Kroger's corporate headquarters are located. McMullen maintained a relatively low public profile outside of his corporate responsibilities at Kroger, and limited information about his personal life beyond his marriage and Kentucky origins is available in public records.

McMullen's personal conduct became the subject of public attention in March 2025, when Kroger announced that his resignation was prompted by an internal investigation finding that his behavior was inconsistent with the company's ethics policies. The specific nature of the conduct has not been publicly disclosed; court rulings in 2025 upheld McMullen's right to keep the details confidential, with a judge characterizing the information as potentially embarrassing.

Legacy

McMullen's tenure as CEO of Kroger spanned more than a decade, during which he led one of the largest employers and retailers in the United States. His career trajectory — from a part-time stock clerk in a Kroger store in Kentucky to the chairman and CEO of the entire corporation — was frequently cited as an example of upward mobility within a large American company.

Under his leadership, Kroger invested in digital transformation, expanding its online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery capabilities to compete with the shifting landscape of American grocery retail. The company also pursued growth through its private-label brands and data analytics capabilities. However, the most ambitious strategic initiative of McMullen's tenure — the proposed merger with Albertsons — ultimately failed after regulatory opposition, leaving Kroger to chart a different course for its future growth.

McMullen's legacy was complicated by the circumstances of his departure. The abrupt nature of his resignation, the company's statement regarding ethics violations, the forfeiture of $11 million in compensation, and the subsequent legal proceedings over disclosure all drew significant media coverage and raised questions that remained publicly unanswered as of early 2026. The extended search for his successor further underscored the disruption caused by his departure, as Kroger — a Fortune 50 company and one of the nation's largest grocers — operated for nearly a year without a permanent CEO.

The compensation disparity between McMullen and Kroger's workforce, documented in multiple analyses and reports during his tenure, also became part of the broader national discussion about executive pay in the United States, particularly in industries such as grocery retail where many workers earn relatively low wages.