New leader of Kroger in region
In case you missed it, grocery supermarket chain The Kroger Co. announced a new executive lineup last Thursday.
Mike Donnelly has been named executive vice president of merchandising, Chris Hjelm has been named EVP and chief information officer; Fred Morganthall has been named EVP of retail operations; and Mike Schlotman has been named EVP and will continue in his role as chief financial officer, according to the Cincinnati-based Fortune 500 company.
Each leader has been assigned additional responsibilities to streamline decision making under this new organizational structure, according to the company.
Also part of the changes was the announcement that Kroger senior vice president of retail divisions Geoff Covert will retire. Springboro resident and Wright State University graduate Sukanya Madlinger, currently president of Kroger’s home Cincinnati/Dayton Division, has been named his successor.
Madlinger joined Kroger in 1986 in the store management training program and has held various leadership positions in operations and merchandising before being named to her current role as president of the Cincinnati/Dayton division in 2010, according to Kroger.
Replacing Madlinger in charge of Kroger operations in Greater Cincinnati, Dayton and Springfield will be Tim Brown, who currently serves as president of Kroger’s Delta division based in Memphis. His successor will be named at a later date.
The Cincinnati/Dayton Division employs more than 20,000 people at about 109 stores in the region. STAFF REPORT
One driver behind grocery chain Kroger’s hiring spree — there are currently about 1,100 job openings at stores in the Cincinnati, Dayton and Springfield areas — is the retailer’s expanding online shopping service, said Niki Pinion, recruiting coordinator for Kroger’s Cincinnati/Dayton Division.
Job listings touch “literally” every store department including courtesy clerk, cashier, pharmacy technician, the cheese shop, bistro, delis and in-store Starbucks depending on location, Pinion said. The Kroger Co. is expanding services and adding or remodeling supermarkets, Pinion said.
“We’re just looking for people that show a customer focus,” Pinion said. “We can teach the operation but we want our folks to really focus on our customers.”
Additionally, for everyone new store location that rolls out the online shopping option, about 15 to 30 additional employees are needed per site, Pinion said. Related jobs created by the service include e-commerce selector and e-commerce attendant who do the shopping for online customers, she said.
The first Kroger-branded store to make online shopping available to consumers was in Liberty Twp. Its since expanded to more stores including Lebanon, Finneytown, Versailles, Ky. and Carmel, Ind., according to company spokeswoman Patty Leesemann.
No locations are being named yet, but Leesemann said she can confirm 11 stores are slated to start the service by the end of the year mostly in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
To order (at participating locations), go online to www.kroger.com/onlineshopping, build a cart, and select a pick-up time and location.
As part of hiring efforts, Kroger is holding open interviews geared to veteran and military members and their families from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Tuesday.
Applicants are being asked to apply online at jobs.kroger.com by today (Sept. 13), and then return to a local store Tuesday with no appointment necessary, according to the Ohio-based grocer.
More than 6,000 veterans were hired companywide in 2014, and more than 29,000 veterans have been hired since 2009 as part of a commitment to active duty troops through the Cincinnati company’s “Honoring Our Heroes” program, according to Kroger.
A job at Kroger is a good transition role for returning military members, Pinion said.
“We operate like a team environment and we know the military kind of harbors that environment as well,” she said.
Even though Kroger is targeting the military to fill job listings, the 1,100 jobs are open to any applicants and the company won’t turn away applicants Tuesday, she said.
About the Author