Kroger taps PepsiCo veteran for CFO roleKroger taps PepsiCo veteran for CFO role

Kroger on Wednesday said it has named longtime PepsiCo financial executive David Kennerley senior VP and chief financial officer, filling a position that has been held on an interim basis for nearly a year.

Kennerley will succeed Todd Foley, who was named interim CFO last February when the retailer announced the departure of its previous CFO, Gary Millerchip, who left to become CFO at Costco Wholesale Corp. Foley, who had been group vice president, corporate controller, and chief accounting officer before being named interim CFO, will retire after the end of Kroger’s fiscal 2024 reporting cycle in March.

Biggest news for grocery: Post-merger performance

Kennerley joins Kroger following the recent implosion of its two-year effort to merge with Albertsons as regulators quashed the $24.6 billion deal based on anticompetitive concerns and the feasibility of the two companies’ store-divestment plans. Since that time, Albertsons has filed a lawsuit against Kroger and both companies have announced corporate staff reductions.

Kennerley also joins the company at a time when the company has been performing well financially. Identical-store sales, excluding fuel, were up 2.3% in Kroger’s fiscal third quarter, and the stock price has risen about 7% since the merger fell through in December.

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More details

Kennerley joined PepsiCo in 2001 as a manager in the beverage giant’s international corporate finance/treasury department, where he was responsible for all treasury activities in Western Europe. He subsequently held a series of roles in both Europe and North America, including stints as the senior finance director for the company’s Global Beverages Group and its North America Beverages group. In the latter role, he oversaw the company’s grocery business, its largest channel in North America. He was also senior VP, finance, for PepsiCo’s North American Bottling business before being named CFO, Europe, in 2020.

In his new role, Kennerley will relocate to Cincinnati, where Kroger is based.

In their own words: “PepsiCo shareholder value

“We look forward to welcoming David to the Kroger team. He brings to Kroger deep experience leading a broad-cross section of U.S. and international finance teams which helped PepsiCo create shareholder value for nearly 25 years.” — Rodney McMullen, chairman and CEO, Kroger