Croaking At Kroger

Whatever this grocery giant's CEO did, it's costing him millions

“Everyone should get sacked at least once. It forces you to look at yourself.” – Anna Wintour

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Mystery abounds. Kroger’s CEO was forced to resign for something he did, but we don’t know what.

So for now, let’s play 20 questions with the Cincinnati-based grocery giant:

1. Q: Animal, vegetable or mineral? A: “Rodney McMullen has resigned from the Company following a Board investigation of his personal conduct that, while unrelated to the business, was inconsistent with Kroger's Policy on Business Ethics.”

2. Q: Was there a problem with his financial performance? A: No.

3. Q: Did he bungle operations? A: No.

4. Q: Were there any kind of reporting misstatements? A: No.

5. Q: Does it have anything to do with Kroger’s nixed attempt to buy Albertsons for $25 billion last year? A: We already said this: It was “unrelated to the business.”

6. Q: How about other Kroger associates? Anyone else involved? A: No.

7. Q: But it was a big-enough ethical lapse for McMullen to leave millions on the table? A: “McMullen will forfeit all unvested equity awards outstanding under the Company’s 2019 Long-Term Incentive Plan and will not be eligible to receive payment of a 2024 bonus.”

8. Q: Don’t your shareholders deserve a better explanation? How do we know if he wasn’t forced out over boardroom politics? A: It’s personal.

9. Q: OK. You win. We give up. What’d he do? A: None of your business. But check our website: We have a great deal on eggs for $12.99.

Looks like Kroger is having a sale on business ethics. (Illustration: AI Generated.)

McMullen, 64, was bagging about $16 million in annual compensation, and in resigning he forfeited $11.2 million in unvested stock and options. He also won’t receive his bonus for the company’s latest fiscal year, which just ended Feb. 1.

This is a guy who started off as a grocery bagger in 1978 in his hometown of Lexington, Ky., and now he’s sacked. No paper. No plastic. Just carted to the parking lot.

Whatever he allegedly did somehow outweighed decades of diligence and dedication at the nation’s largest traditional grocery-store chain.

And it probably wasn’t squeezing the Charmin.

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