Dive Brief:

• Kroger announced Monday Gary Millerchip is leaving as senior vice president and CFO to take an executive role at another company. Costco announced Tuesday that Millerchip will become its CFO and executive vice president, effective March 15.
• The grocer appointed Todd Foley, group vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, to serve as interim CFO, effective today, until a successor is named.
• Kroger said that Foley, who joined the grocery company in 2001, has more than 30 years of experience.  

Dive Insight:

With Millerchip’s exit, Kroger is losing a veteran C-suite executive at a crucial moment as it looks to move forward with its proposed merger with Albertsons. 

Millerchip told Kroger about his decision to leave on Jan. 30, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“Millerchip’s decision was not due to any disagreements with Kroger on any matter relating to Kroger’s operations, policies or practices,” Kroger said in the filing. 

Millerchip joined Kroger in 2008 as CEO of Kroger Personal Finance and then became SVP and CFO April 2019 following the retirement of J. Michael Schlotman. Kroger did not name the company that Millerchip will be joining. 

"Todd is the right person to take the helm and will step in seamlessly to continue advancing our value creation model and maintain a strong financial framework for our company as we plan ahead for our pending merger with Albertsons,” Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said in a statement.  

Foley joined Kroger in 2001 as an audit manager in the company’s internal audit department and has since served in a variety of roles including assistant corporate controller; CFO of Kroger's Cincinnati/Dayton operating division; and vice president and treasurer. He took on his current roles of group vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer in October 2021. 

Prior to Kroger, Foley worked as a senior audit manager at PwC. 

The announcement noted that Foley was an “architect” of Kroger's financial strategy, including its “Leading with Fresh, Accelerating with Digital” strategy.

McMullen said that Foley “is a proven leader who has served in key finance roles and has contributed meaningfully to Kroger's growth and transformation over more than 20 years.”

In January, Kroger and Albertsons pushed back the timeline for their proposed merger, saying they now expect their deal to close during the first half of Kroger’s current fiscal year, which began Sunday. Also last month, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued to prevent the grocers from combining.

Sam Silverstein contributed reporting.