Mary Ellen Adcock

Executive Vice President and Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer Kroger

Last Reviewed: October 1, 2026

Executive Summary

Mary Ellen Adcock leads merchandising and marketing at Kroger as Executive Vice President and Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer. Her remit covers sales and category planning for fresh foods, center store and general merchandise, along with e-commerce and digital merchandising, fuel, manufacturing and the company’s Our Brands private labels. A Kroger employee since 1999, she started in human resources at a company bakery and worked through manufacturing, merchandising and retail operations, which she led as Senior Vice President from 2019 to 2024. Kroger ranked No. 27 on the 2026 Fortune 500.

Career Highlights

• Executive Vice President and Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer of Kroger since March 2025.
• Senior Vice President and Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer, 2024 to 2025.
• Senior Vice President of Retail Operations, 2019 to 2024.
• Group Vice President of Retail Operations, 2016 to 2019.

Professional Journey

Adcock joined Kroger in 1999 as human resources assistant manager at the Country Oven Bakery in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She held manufacturing leadership positions including human resources manager, general manager and division operations manager, then became Vice President of Deli/Bakery Manufacturing and Vice President of Natural Foods Merchandising.

In the Columbus Division she was Vice President of Merchandising and Vice President of Operations. She was Group Vice President of Retail Operations from 2016 and Senior Vice President of Retail Operations from 2019.

In December 2024 she became Senior Vice President and Chief Merchant and Marketing Officer, and in March 2025 was elected Executive Vice President in the same role.

Education

No first-party source read for this profile states her education.