Latest news with #Sargent
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Kroger's next CEO be a woman?
Will Kroger's next CEO be a woman? An insider or someone new? An internet wiz or someone all about stores? Nearly three months after the abrupt departure of CEO Rodney McMullen, the Cincinnati-based supermarket giant hasn't offered any new information on its search for a successor. Interim CEO Ron Sargent, 69, a Kroger board member and former Staples CEO, told Wall Street analysts the retailer would conduct a national search, but would also consider internal candidates. Kroger officials declined to comment on the company's ongoing search for a new CEO. Still, among Kroger's 12 top executives, four are women and two of them, Mary Adcock and Valerie Jabbar, have critical operations experience that might put them in the running for the top spot. Both have experience overseeing Kroger divisions that include the management of thousands of stores. If the Kroger board of directors is leaning toward picking an outsider for the top job, the company could look for a top executive (male or female) with experience at a rival, such as Walmart or Costco, or lure top talent from a consumer products supplier, such as Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble. One thing missing from the top ranks of Kroger's executives is anyone with the title of president and chief operating officer, which both McMullen and his predecessor, David Dillon, held before getting the CEO position. The lack of a clear No. 2 executive suggests McMullen, 64, and the board of directors weren't planning for a leadership transition in the near future before the CEO's sudden exit. Kroger disclosures show McMullen's departure was hasty: The company said it came about after the board 'was made aware' of some undisclosed conduct and 'immediately' hired an outside lawyer to investigate 10 days before he resigned. McMullen resigned amid an investigation into his 'personal conduct' that was "inconsistent' with the grocer's policy of business ethics, the grocer announced March 3. Sargent took over at the retailer after McMullen's sudden exit after more than 11 years as CEO. The company hasn't offered additional detail about the conduct, other than to say it was 'not related to the company's financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates.' Kroger officials have offered no update of the CEO search or a timeline for filling the role since Sargent's comments to Wall Street analysts during the March earnings call. A look at Kroger's past leaders and who rivals tap as CEOs shows retailers prefer internal candidates that have risen through the ranks. Grocery retailers also gravitate toward executives who run large swathes of stores as opposed to heads of major support departments, like human resources, finance or legal. At Kroger, McMullen took an unusual path toward the corner office, at first heading finance as chief financial officer in the late 1990s. He was later made the head of strategy and planning in addition to finance in 2000 before becoming president and COO in 2009. Kroger's previous CEOs, David Dillon and Joseph Pichler, had both overseen retail divisions at Kroger before becoming president and heir apparent: Dillon ran Dillons Food Stores, which is based in Kansas and also has stores in Missouri and Nebraska; Pichler had also been a top Dillons executive before it was acquired by Kroger. A similar pattern plays out at top Kroger rivals. Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon, 58, headed the retailer's international operations before getting the top job in 2014. At Costco, Ron Vachris, 59, became CEO in 2024 after serving as president and COO for almost two years and head of merchandising before that, from 2016 to 2022. In March, Albertsons, which called off its planned merger with Kroger in late 2024 after regulators blocked the deal, named Susan Morris, 56, its CEO after she served 2018 to 2025 as chief operations officer. She replaced Vivek Sankaran, who announced his retirement the same day McMullen resigned from Kroger. So who are top executives at Kroger with oversight of core operations? While the company lists 12 people among its senior executive team in its annual report, at least half of them oversee supply chain, finance, legal, human resources and other support functions that generally don't lead to the CEO job. Another is Sargent, who is serving as interim CEO, and two others who have left in recent changes in the executive team. Top executives below Sargent are: Mary E. Adcock, 49, Kroger's chief merchant and marketing officer since December, whose previous job was head of retail operations from 2019 to 2024. Yael Cosset, 51, who was named the company's chief digital officer in March and whose previous job was chief information officer from 2019 to 2025. Kroger's digital operations, which include home delivery and pickup, is a $12 billion business. Valerie Jabbar, 56, has been senior vice president responsible for the oversight of several Kroger retail divisions since 2021. If Kroger's board wants an outsider for its next boss, it could always poach a top executive from another top retailer. A former Walmart or Costco executive could prove a tempting candidate – assuming non-compete agreements don't prevent them from moving. One such possibility, for example, might be Judith McKenna, 58, former CEO of Walmart's international division. She retired from the company in January 2024. Walmart's non-compete agreements typically last two years, according to corporate disclosures, suggesting she might be available in early 2026. She currently sits on the board of directors of Delta Air Lines and Unilever. One caveat: senior Walmart executives are expensive; McKenna's pay when she left Walmart was nearly $14 million annually. (McMullen's last annual pay package, for the 2024 fiscal year was $15.5 million). Another option would be to nab a senior executive from a consumer company that works extensively with supermarkets. When Albertsons enlisted Sankaran in 2019 to lead its company, he'd previously served as a top executive at PepsiCo, most recently as North American CEO of its Frito Lay division. Top executives at P&G could also be affordable. One example: Fatima Francisco, CEO of P&G's paper products business, made $7.3 million in the last fiscal year. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kroger's next CEO could be one of several qualified women Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Before ‘Madame X,' John Singer Sargent was even more dazzling
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Museum of Art's 'Sargent and Paris' exhibition builds to a single moment, a single painting and a single scandal in the life of the young American artist. In 1884, a decade after he had arrived in Paris as a precocious 18-year-old, John Singer Sargent unveiled a portrait of a Louisiana-born Creole woman named Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau at the Paris salon. It caused a sensation that still ripples today.
Indianapolis Star
4 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
'High energy kid.' City Male Athlete of Year Kalen Sargent finds calling running track
Kalen Sargent will leave Bishop Chatard High School as a much different person than the one who entered. Sargent smiles when he thinks back to that kid. 'You think you know everything,' he said. 'I definitely changed.' For starters, that Kalen Sargent was not a track and field athlete. He was a football player. Sargent did not run track as a freshman. But Chatard track coach Sean McGinley remembers the first day Sargent came out for track practice as a sophomore. Long strider. Good potential. 'He helped the team,' McGinley said. 'He was more of a relay runner. He ran the 4x100 (relay) and the 200 (meters). Then, as a junior, he really developed the ability that he has now.' The big breakthrough came during the sectional meet in Sargent's junior year. His 48.17-second time in the 400 meters won the event in a duel with North Central's Dehnm Holt, who was right behind him at 48.32 seconds. 'In May of last year, he really started developing into a 200 and 400 runner,' McGinley said. "He went 21.7 in the City meet in the 200 and 48.1 (in the sectional 400). That was kind of his big breakout those two or three weeks in a row.' Sargent, the kid who would have never considered himself a track athlete, committed to Indiana University in February to run track. He is also the City Male Athlete of the Year for 2024-25 by a vote of the athletic directors in Marion County. The honor dates to 1950 (it grew to include female athletes in 1979) and is regarded as one of the top recognition awards for Indianapolis-area senior high school athletes. Other finalists for the award were Crispus Attucks basketball standout Dezmon Briscoe and Cathedral football/track star Devaughn Slaughter. The award is geared toward athletic achievement, but the winners also exhibit impressive credentials in academics and in their personal lives. Generally, multi-sport athletes are given consideration over single-sport athletes. 'He brings it in practice every day,' senior teammate Phoenix Boyer said of Sargent. 'He pushes his teammates. I'll be on the ground dead in a workout after doing a hard 400, an intense workout for runners, and he'll pick me up. He's a great teammate because he pushes you a bunch. Anyone would want him on your team.' Boyer would know. He and Sargent are part of Chatard's 4x400 relay team that set an indoor state record with a time of 3:15.92 at the state meet in late March. Sargent and Boyer, joined by Keaton Keuhr and Quinn O'Neil, are locked in a battle right behind North Central in the race for a state title. At the sectional meet, Sargent took first in the 100 (10.85), second in the 400 (48.15) and helped the 4x400 relay team to a second-place finish (3:18.32). 'He's definitely a high energy kid in a positive way,' McGinley said of Sargent. "He's willing to do different events for the team. He started off as more of a 100 runner but he developed into a 400 runner. He's really done the 100, 200 and 400 all season.' Sargent dropped the 200 for the run to the state meet, sticking with the 100, 400 and 4x400. He begged his coach last year to run the open 400, then set the school record in the sectional (Boyer later broke it). But Sargent found his passion, running a 46.3 split in the Dennis McNulty Invitational in late April. 'Coach called it a 'real man's race,'' Sargent said of the 400. 'I got out there and ran a fast time (in the sectional last year) and set a school record. That's when he was like, 'Oh yeah, I think we found your thing.' Before that it was more 100 and 200 and just went out there and ran. God blessed with this frame, but it's definitely a race where you have to have your mental side right. I definitely like a challenge.' Football did not necessarily turn out like Sargent hoped, though he did play on Class 3A state championship teams as a sophomore and junior as a receiver and defensive back. 'I kind of got in my own head and it just didn't work out,' Sargent said. 'But I came out here to track and just gave it a shot and kind of took off with it. I wasn't seeing the progress like I wanted during football season, so I wanted to find something else where I could get after it and just kind of feed that hunger.' He found the perfect outlet and the right teammates. Boyer, who has competed in track since fourth grade, said he appreciates track as a sport because he 'loves pushing to be the best version of myself.' 'I lot of it is mental,' Boyer said. 'The toughest part is finishing, staying strong. You have to get excited and have that mindset that you are going to win. If you doubt yourself, it kind of sends you down a bad hill. But if you can have that excitement and bring that energy, your teammates know what you can do, and the race is a lot easier.' Boyer said he saw that light go off for Sargent as a junior. 'He's one of the best athletes to train with because he's one of the top runners in the state,' Boyer said. 'He's the best person I can compete with.' Sargent is likely to run the 400 at IU. He plans on majoring in business and having a minor in meteorology, then joining the reserves and 'hopefully fly fighter jets while doing that' with the goal of becoming a commercial pilot. But for now, he is still taking flight by running around the track. 'I've enjoyed pushing my personal limits to a new level and the team's limits to a new level,' Sargent said. 'Just seeing what we can really do and having fun at the same time.'
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Why Auburn's Jackson Koivun would wait to turn pro if he earns PGA Tour card Monday
Why Auburn's Jackson Koivun would wait to turn pro if he earns PGA Tour card Monday Show Caption Hide Caption Drone flyover video of Omni La Costa North Course par-4 15th hole Omni La Costa is hosting the NCAA mens and womens golf championships for a second year in a row. The North Course's 15th hole is a challenging par 4. CARLSBAD, Calif. — Jackson Koivun can earn his PGA Tour card on Monday. If he did, he could play on the PGA Tour in two weeks as a full-time member. The sophomore at Auburn sits at 19 points in the PGA Tour University Accelerated, one away from earning a PGA Tour card. The caveat? Koivun is going to lock up that point in the next couple of weeks anyway. When he tees it up at the Arnold Palmer Cup next month at Congaree, he will have his PGA Tour card and be able to take up membership after his junior season. Or, he could finished in the top 10 at the 2025 NCAA Men's Golf Championship on Monday and lock up his card now, giving him the ability to turn pro after the championship, joining Luke Clanton and Gordon Sargent as college players turning pro thanks to PGA Tour U Accelerated. "I've been thinking about it a little bit," Koivun said. "I think it's definitely a little easier on the mind knowing that it's kind of already there, but it would be cool with the top 10 this week to finally get that. It's kind of been weighing on me for a while now, but at the end of the day, I know I'm going to get it and just trying to go play golf and try to represent Auburn." Koivun finished T-2 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa last year, a fitting end to a dominant freshman campaign that saw him win the Fred Haskins Award, Ben Hogan Award and Jack Nicklaus Award. This year, he has three victories, including his second straight SEC Championship and the NCAA Auburn Regional on his home course. In the fall of 2023, Vanderbilt's Sargent earned his 20th point but deferred turning pro and returned for his senior season. Clanton didn't have a point in Accelerated a year ago but earned his 20th in February, making the cut at his hometown event in Florida. They'll both make their professional debuts in two weeks at the RBC Canadian Open. With a top 10 Sunday, Koivun would earn his card and be able to join Clanton and Sargent, but that's not the plan. "I'll be going back to Auburn," Koivun said Sunday after a 1-under 71 in the third round of the NCAA Championship, where he sits T-7 after the morning wave. The plan was always to return to Auburn, which he helped win its first national championship last year. After three rounds, the Tigers are in first and a virtual lock to make match play, which begins Tuesday. Koivun never wavered even as he racked up points and came close to securing his card. He said he spoke a bit with Clanton and Sargent about the pressure of chasing the card and accomplishing the feat like they did. "The easiest thing to do is just try to put it as far out of your mind as you can," he said. "This game is full of stress, and at the end of the day, anything we can do to take stress off of us and just go play freely is great." Come Monday, there could be a ceremony to celebrate his accomplishment. But his future is on the plains at least one more year, and Koivun and the Tigers' focus the rest of the week is on trying to go back-to-back.
The Age
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘I'll look after you': Rider banned for trying to avoid missing weight
He was suspended for three weeks on the first charge and four on the second, but they are to be served concurrently from June 7. Hutchings said of the first charge that he'd made 'a massive mistake'. 'I've just come back from a three-month injury. Financially, it's put a lot of pressure on me,' he said. 'The last two days, we've been flooded in our home, so that's interrupted my preparation, hence my weight was a little bit bad. 'I felt the pressure because it was a Chris Waller runner, and I'm trying to establish myself again in NSW. I do regret it, and it's just possibly a brain snap on my behalf.' As for the second charge, he said: 'It sort of didn't hit me until we were sitting in here and he said those words and I thought, 'Geez, this is pretty big'. I'm all for the integrity of racing. Obviously, the words are serious, but it's a long way from what I meant.' Freedman flyer eyes Oaks Trainer Will Freedman believes Let's Fly is bred to tackle the 2400m of the Queensland Oaks after she rocketed into calculations with a wet-track demolition at Randwick on Saturday. A $31 chance, the filly relished heavy going in the 1800m benchmark 72 handicap for three-year-olds to win by almost six lengths and was quickly posted as a $15 (TAB) for the group 1 Oaks on June 7 at Eagle Farm. Leading Sydney apprentice Braith Nock raced Let's Fly outside the leader before she took over on the home turn under hands and heels riding. Nock then asked for an effort, and she gapped her rivals. Owners now seem certain to pay a late nomination fee for the Oaks. 'Her half sister, Mimi's Award, won over 2800 and 3200, so there's definitely pedigree to run over a trip, but she's come to hand a lot quicker than I thought,' said Will, who trains in partnership with his father, Richard. 'I thought an Oaks was way too ambitious, but she's beaten them like a good thing.' Sargent on weather watch Randwick trainer John Sargent has his fingers crossed for a wet Brisbane Cup on June 14 after Casual Connection showed he is up for another shot at the group 2 3200m test with a dominant win on Saturday. The six-year-old cruised to a three-length win in the 2400m benchmark 78 race, which he also won narrowly last year from Quantum Cat on a soft track. On a heavy surface on Saturday, he was never threatened. Last year, Casual Connection went onto the Brisbane Cup, where he ran ninth on a good 4 Eagle Farm surface. 'He's been a great horse, especially on this type of ground,' Sargent said. 'I wouldn't take him again, he's getting older now, unless it was wet. I took him last year, and it was rock hard, and he didn't like it, so we'll just tick away for a few weeks and see how the weather is. 'He loves the wet, he's only a one-paced horse so she rode it a treat.' Stanley breaks through Newcastle-based apprentice William Stanley celebrated his best moment in racing when scoring a first Saturday city win thanks to a strong effort from John Thompson-trained Flying Embers in the Midway Handicap (1400m). Stanley, who had his first city winner, Opal Fields, also for Thompson at a midweek Warwick Farm meeting, produced a calm ride on the favourite, which was caught wide but still powered to a one and a quarter length victory. Stanley, who hails from Orange, moved to join the Kris Lees stables, through a connection with former jockey Corey Brown, six months ago and hopes to land more city rides. 'That's my No.1 so far,' Stanley said of the win. 'All the family are in racing. Dad [Peter] was a jockey for 30 years and is now a trainer. All my sisters and brothers are jockeys. They weren't going to stop it [me becoming one]. 'I'm happy where I am at the moment and how things are going.' Agarwood brings spring promise The Adrian Bott-Gai Waterhouse stable is likely to spell Agarwood and target the spring after the promising filly stamped her potential with a commanding win at Randwick on Saturday. An odds-on favourite in the 1200m race for two-year-olds, the daughter of Wootton Bassett scored a two-and-a-quarter-length victory from Godolphin's Matima. Bott said before the race that Agarwood would be spelled to prepare for a spring campaign. Jockey Adam Hyeronimus said Agarwood was very professional on Saturday after she was a handful for Tim Clark behind the gates before winning on debut at Warwick Farm on May 7. 'She's really improved from that mentally, and she was such a professional today,' Hyeronimus said. Howlett hope seasoned for cups Hunter trainer Todd Howlett had his eye on wet-weather country cups for A Pound Of Salt after he burst through the pack late under Zac Lloyd to take out the Highway Handicap on Saturday. The five-year-old, which came to Howlett from Orange trainer Peter Stanley - the father of Saturday's Midway-winning apprentice William, raced away with the class 3 1200m event. It was his third win in eight starts for Howlett and the first in Highway grade. 'It was a good turn of foot under heavy conditions,' Howlett said. 'He's a little fella and when I got him, I wouldn't have expected him to be winning a Highway, so he's done a great job. 'I'll just try to find the right races, but maybe he could go into those country cups now. He does [handle heavy tracks]. That was the query today and he's done well.'
