Rodney McMullen was born in Pineville, Kentucky. His parents didn’t have a stable and secure job. If the economy wasn’t doing well they would get laid off. Thus the life that Rodney experienced was one of moving from one location to another where factory work was available.
He was an only child and his parents wanted him to have a better future and encouraged him to get a college education. Rodney’s parents were able to save up for one year’s college for him. He made it through the University of Kentucky by working at night as a stock boy at Kroger in Lexington, Kentucky. He first worked there in 1978. To get by Rodney picked up every extra shift he could. He worked every job in the store from the dairy to the deli.
Rodney’s life is characterized by going the extra mile. He was not only a working student at UK but aside from his undergraduate degree he also got a master’s degree all in four years time.
He was asked by the local vice president for operations if he wanted to work at Kroger towards the end of his studies. So instead of joining an accounting firm as was his plan, Rodney began working as an accounting supervisor in Kroger’s Charlotte, North Carolina, division office. This choice would turn out to be a good one for him and Kroger as well.
Rodney was good in the office able to increase work productivity when the personal computer was introduced. He was eventually moved to the Cincinnati head office. Rodney played a critical role in Kroger’s restructuring in 1988, when corporate raiders from Wall Street were attempting to take over the company in a leverage buyout. He also oversaw the integration of the $13 billion Fred Meyer acquisition in 1999 that turned Kroger into the largest supermarket chain in the US. Rodney was also moving up the corporate ladder becoming the executive vice president of strategy, planning, and finance in 2000.
In 2014 he finally got the top post of CEO at Kroger the $100 billion in sales corporation.
