Emilee De Martino will serve as The Kroger Co.'s next executive vice president and chief people officer, succeeding Tim Massa, who plans to retire Sept. 18. De Martino plans to begin her time at Kroger by engaging with associates in stores, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities and offices across the country.
De Martino joins Kroger from McDonald’s Corp., where she most recently served as senior vice president and CPO for International Operated Markets. In that role, she led people strategy across 19 countries and a workforce of more than 750,000 employees, working closely with business leaders to drive growth, transformation and an elevated employee experience.
During her eight years at McDonald’s, De Martino made significant contributions to the company, including shaping and embedding the company’s People Brand Standards and Values across the global system and advancing enterprise transformation efforts to fuel sustainable growth. Known for her commitment to talent development and employee experience, she fostered a high-performing, people-first culture, contributing to record levels of restaurant crew retention across the International Operated Markets, according to Kroger.
“Emilee is a proven leader with a track record of building strong people organizations at scale,” says Kroger CEO Greg Foran. “Her experience leading transformation across one of the world’s largest workforces, combined with her commitment to developing talent, makes her exceptionally well-suited to lead the next chapter of our people work at Kroger.”
Prior to McDonald’s, De Martino served as vice president of change and culture for CNA Financial Corp., where she led organizational transformation initiatives, including multiple system transformations, organization redesign and modernization efforts throughout the company. During her tenure, De Martino played a critical role in harnessing culture, talent and leadership development to drive performance. Before joining CNA Financial Corpo., De Martino worked in management consulting at Accenture and Mercer, advising global organizations on human capital strategy, change management and large-scale transformation.
“Kroger is one of the most respected companies in America, with a long-standing commitment to its associates and the communities it serves,” De Martino says. “I am honored to join an organization where people are central to the strategy and excited to work with associates across the business to continue building Kroger as an employer of choice.”
De Martino holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and management from Fort Hays State University and an MBA from Kansas State University. She also completed Columbia University’s Creating & Executing Breakthrough Strategies executive program.
