Kroger's Mike Ellis Retires as President/COO

Mike Ellis, The Kroger's Co.'s president and COO since January 2014, has retired after 40 years with the Cincinnati-based retailer. A successor will be named shortly, according to the company.

Ellis, 56, began his food industry career at Fred Meyer in 1975 as a parcel clerk at age 16, and went on to serve in a series of operations and merchandising leadership positions in stores, division management and as a corporate officer.

Ellis was VP of Fred Meyer's food group before joining Kroger as a senior officer in 2004. He returned to lead Fred Meyer as president in 2006, and was promoted to SVP of retail divisions in 2012, leading five operating divisions, as well as Kroger's jewelry and convenience store businesses.

"We're very grateful to Mike for his contributions over the past 40 years, and we wish him all the best in retirement," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "We have long taken a team approach to leadership and together our highly-experienced team of operators and merchandisers is focused on delivering on our aggressive growth goals."

Kroger operates 2,626 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia under two dozen local banner names.