Tuffin to Lead Kroger's Retail Divisions

The Kroger Co. has promoted Mark Tuffin to senior vice president of retail divisions, succeeding Michael Ellis, who will become Kroger's president and chief operating officer on Jan. 1.

Tuffin has been president of Kroger's Salt Lake City-based Smith's Food and Drug Stores division since 2011. He brings more than 32 years of grocery industry experience to his new role.

Grocery veteran has nearly three decades at Kroger

Tuffin held various positions with other supermarket retailers before joining Smith's in 1996, where he held several key leadership roles including VP of merchandising. In 2009, Tuffin was named VP of transition for Kroger. In this role, he led Kroger's efforts to implement significant organizational changes between all areas of the business.

"Mark is an exceptional leader with an extensive knowledge of the grocery industry," Ellis said. "He has made significant contributions to our company and industry, while always championing our Customer 1st strategy. We look forward to Mark's leadership in this senior role as we continue to accelerate Kroger's growth."

Kroger operates 2,414 supermarkets and multidepartment stores in 31 states under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's.