Kroger CEO Questions Remain While the Market Moves on

Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen resigned this week after the supermarket giant announced his personal conduct was inconsistent with its ethics policy.

What that means, I have no idea.

Few details have been given, although there are certainly theories.  I won’t share those theories, however, as I maintain that all men are innocent until proven otherwise.  But I will say that it must’ve been serious, since his resignation resulted in the forfeiture of $11.2 million in unvested stock and options.

So if anyone ever asks how to secure $11.2 million, the answer is probably, “don’t do shady shit.”

Of course, the crazy thing is that no one expected this from McMullen. 

Kroger CEO Legacy Forever Tarnished

His story reads like a Lifetime movie…

Started off as a minimum-wage grocery store clerk in 1978.  Worked his way through college, earned an accounting degree, then landed a gig as an accounting supervisor.  He worked hard, put in the time, and eventually became CEO in 2014.

This was not some rich kid with an Ivy League pedigree and million-dollar trust fund.  He didn't get that CEO job because his dad went to the same golf club as the board of directors.  He didn’t marry his way into a grocery store dynasty.  This was a guy who legitimately earned his position.

So how did this “American success story,” turn into another corporate liability?

We probably won’t know for some time.

Of course, the market didn’t care much about the news.  It was too busy digesting tariff fears and trade wars.  Two interconnected threats that have a lot of investors trying to figure out what the end game is here.  

Love him or hate him, with Trump in office, you have to stay nimble.  The guy is playing a game of Chess using curious moves that are either incredibly well-calculated or incredibly irresponsible.  Either way, with this kind of confusion, the markets are acting accordingly.  Which is why I’m particularly keen on safe and steady income generation right now.  Like with these AI Equity Checks, for example.

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