Kroger Makes Additional Staffing Changes in Wake of Executive Shakeup

The Kroger Co. has fixed a missing link in its executive chain following a division president shakeup in early April.

As such, Dana Zurcher, current Dallas division president, will move into the role of Columbus division president, to be succeeded by Safeway alum Tom Schwilke.

Kroger EVP and COO Mike Donnelly praised Zurcher for her “diverse operations and merchandising background.”

A Kroger employee since 1985, Zurcher was the first Dallas division president and has held roles such as district manager in the Fry's division, director of operations for the Ralphs division and VP of operations for both the Mid-South division and Southwest division. She has a bachelor's degree in marketing from Ball State University and is the executive leader of Kroger's Women's EDGE associate resource group.

New Dallas division President Schwilke boasts 35 years of merchandising and retail leadership experience. Most recently he was president and general manager of the NorCal division of Safeway Inc., where he oversaw 283 stores and 35,000 associates.

Zurcher's new role opened up after Columbus division President Dan De La Rosa took over the King Sooper's sector and King Sooper's President Dennis Gibson moved into the Fred Meyer division. Also, Robert Clark was promoted from SVP of merchandising to SVP of supply chain, manufacturing and sourcing; Mary Ellen Adcock was promoted from VP of retail operations to SVP of retail operations; and Fred Meyer division President Joe Grieshaber was promoted to SVP of merchandising.

At the time of the restructuring, Donnelly said each promotion was consistent with the retailer’s “track record of strong succession planning and will help ensure we continue driving toward our growth objectives.”