Kroger Announces Retirement of Jayne Homco, Promotes Scott Hays to Michigan Division President

News provided by

Sep 05, 2017, 14:00 ET

CINCINNATI, Sept. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today announced the retirement of Michigan division President Jayne Homco, and the promotion of Scott Hays to succeed her. Mr. Hays currently serves as vice president of operations for the company's Fry's division.

Jayne Homco to Retire after 42 Years of Service

Jayne Homco will retire from the company after 42 years of distinguished service, effective September 30.

"In her more than 40 years with Kroger, Jayne has touched the lives of countless customers and associates, and her dedication to the community – especially her work with feeding the hungry, education and women's health – has been an example to us all," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "We are grateful for Jayne's many contributions over the years and wish her and her family the best in retirement."

Ms. Homco began her Kroger career in 1975 as a store clerk in Kroger's Central division in Indianapolis. She spent time in store management roles in the division, before relocating to the company's Dillons division in Kansas in 1998 as a deli/bakery merchandiser. She went on to hold several leadership positions in Dillons and multiple Kroger divisions, before being promoted to vice president of merchandising for the QFC division in 2004. She was named to the same position for Kroger's Southwest division in 2007. She was promoted to her current role in the Michigan division in 2013.

During her four years in Michigan, Ms. Homco was passionate about ending food insecurity, helping raise and contribute more than $7.5 million dollars to area food banks and rescuing more than 19.2 million pounds of healthy foods from Kroger stores. Ms. Homco also dedicated her time to Detroit's American Cancer Society and made women's health a top priority, as she led the division to raise more than $1.2 million under her tenure. Ms. Homco is a member of the Network of Executive Women, serves on the Board of Directors for Forgotten Harvest, Board of Advisors for Michigan Business & Professional Association - Women and Leadership in the Workplace, Board of Directors for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and Board of Advisors for the Michigan Food and Beverage Association. She was named one of Progressive Grocer magazine's Senior Level Executive Top Women in Grocery in 2008, an honoree of the Women and Leadership in the Workplace Distinguished Service Award for 2014, and one of the Most Influential Women in Michigan in 2016. Ms. Homco and her husband, Daniel, are retiring to Texas where they also have plans to travel, play golf, take culinary classes and more.

Scott Hays Promoted to President of Michigan Division

Scott Hays, currently vice president of operations for the company's Fry's division, succeeds Ms. Homco as president of the Michigan division, effective October 1.

"Scott has been a tremendous asset to Kroger since coming on board earlier this year," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. "His dedicated leadership is best exemplified by his passion for supporting our associates and customers."

Mr. Hays joined Kroger in April 2017 in his current role. He came to Kroger from Albertson's Inc., where he began his grocery career in 1983 as a grocery clerk in Provo, Utah. He was promoted to a store director and then held positions of increasing responsibility throughout Albertson's Inc.'s footprint, including district manager, area vice president and division vice president leading the company's San Antonio division. He played an integral role in the development of the Texas and Louisiana markets for Albertson's. He also served as the vice president of operations for Jewel Osco in the Chicagoland market and most recently was the division president for Albertson's Dallas-Fort Worth market.

At The Kroger Co., we are dedicated to our purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit^SM. We are 443,000 associates who serve eight and a half million customers every day in 2,792 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Our Family of Companies operates an expanding ClickList offering – a personalized order online service – in addition to 2,255 pharmacies, 782 convenience stores, 311 fine jewelry stores, 220 retail health clinics, 1,453 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Our Company has been recognized as one of America's most generous companies for its support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. As a leader in supplier diversity, we are a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.

SOURCE The Kroger Co.