William Rodney McMullen (born 1961) is an American businessman who has been the CEO of Kroger, the third-largest general retailer in the US, since January 1, 2014.
Rodney McMullen | |
|---|---|
 McMullen in 2020 | |
| Born | 1960 or 1961 (age 62–63)[1] Pineville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Education | University of Kentucky (BS, MS) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | CEO, Kroger |
| Predecessor | David Dillon |
| Spouse | Kathryn King |
Early life
editMcMullen was born in Pineville, Kentucky[2] on his family-owned farm, and was the first of his family to receive a college education. He has a bachelor's and a master's degree in accounting, both from the University of Kentucky.[1]
Career
editIn 1978, McMullen began working part-time as a stock clerk in his local Kroger grocery store, while a university student. His work included price tagging items, bagging groceries, receiving product, and running the register. In 1982, McMullen moved to Charlotte. From there, he became a financial analyst in the corporate headquarters. At the age of 34, McMullen became chief financial officer. McMullen was key in the merger with Fred Meyer, Inc. in 1999. In 2003, McMullen became vice chairman, and COO in 2009.[3][4][5] McMullen became the CEO of Kroger on January 1, 2014, succeeding David Dillon.[6]
McMullen is a non-executive director of Cincinnati Financial.[1]
Compensation
editMcMullen received $12m compensation in FY 2018, jumping by 21% to $20.1m for FY2019 due to "a boost in stock awards tied to performance incentives."[7][8]
In 2020, his salary plus bonuses plus various stock options totaled $20,578,119.[9]
In 2021, McMullen's salary was listed at $1.34 million, while the median employee salary at Kroger that year was a bit more than $24,000. This indicates McMullen makes 5,348 percent of the median salary, which is one of the largest wage gaps in America.[10] His total compensation for 2021 was $18 million.[11]
In 2022, McMullen's total compensation rose $1 million to $19 million, with the ratio of McMullen's pay to that of the median Kroger worker for that year standing at 671-to-1.[11]
In 2023, McMullen's total compensation from Kroger was $15.7 million, or 502 times what the median employee at Kroger earned that same year.[12]
Personal life
editHe is married to Kathryn King McMullen, whom he met when they were both students at the University of Kentucky.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Executive Profile* W. Rodney McMullen". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ^ Coolidge, Alexander. "How Rodney McMullen took Kroger to the top". cincinnati.com. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ "Here's what you need to know about Kroger's incoming CEO Rodney McMullen - Cincinnati Business Courier". Bizjournals.com. 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
- ^ W. Rodney McMullen. "W. McMullen: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
- ^ "W. Mcmullen". Forbes. 2012-04-18. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
- ^ "News Room". The Kroger Co. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
- ^ "BRIEF-Kroger Co Says CEO Rodney Mcmullen's FY 2019 Total Compensation Was $21.1 Mln". Reuters. 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ Watkins, Steve (2020-05-12). "Kroger CEO McMullen gets 21% pay hike for '19". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ "W. Rodney McMullen". Salary.com. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ Huddleson, Tom. "Study: Big company CEOs make $1.3 million more than their employees, on average". CNBC. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
- ^ a b Coolidge, Alexander (2023-05-12). "Filing: Kroger paid CEO $19M in 2022, typical worker almost $29K". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
- ^ Anderson, Sarah (2024-08-29). "Executive Excess 2024: The "Low Wage 100" corporations are enriching CEOs at the expense of workers and long-term investment" (PDF). Institute for Policy Studies. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
- ^ "UK alumnus to be CEO of The Kroger Co". ukalumni. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
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