When Kroger introduced Greg Foran as its CEO earlier this year, the supermarket chain drew accolades for its decision to hire a new leader who had distinguished himself by turning around Walmart’s U.S. operations.
But beyond his background as a senior executive at the world’s largest retailer, Foran brings Kroger another asset that could prove pivotal as he strives to work the same magic at Kroger that he did at Walmart: experience working outside the United States.
Ahead of joining Kroger in February, Foran served as CEO of Air New Zealand. And before his promotion to head Walmart’s stateside division in July 2014, Foran was president and CEO of Walmart Asia, a role he assumed after running Walmart’s China unit. Earlier in his career, he held multiple positions at Australia-based retailer Woolworths Group, which runs stores in that country and New Zealand.
The perspective people develop over years working in other countries’ retail sectors can give an edge over grocers that have not looked as far afield for leaders, industry analysts said.
Tom Furphy, CEO and managing director of venture capital firm Consumer Equity Partners, noted that many U.S. grocery chains depend on multiple generations of leadership from the families that founded them.
“I think you end up with this perpetuating of existing practices, existing beliefs, existing philosophies and existing approaches to the customer” when you follow that playbook, he said, adding, “When you bring international experience, you’re bringing in experience from generally more diverse markets.”
Furphy said that retailers operating outside the U.S. tend to be ahead of their stateside counterparts in areas such as format innovation and technology development.
“The rest of the world is bigger than the U.S., so it stands to reason that you have a broader perspective to learn and grow from. But they tend to see innovation earlier, I would say, with wider eyes,” he said.
Matt Hamory, co-leader of the global grocery practice at management consulting firm AlixPartners, offered a similar view.
“[An] enormously valuable feature of having an executive, particularly a CEO or someone that, with international experience [is] they just ask different questions and they don’t necessarily have the same innate assumptions that other U.S. native grocers might,” Hamory said.
Kroger’s choice of Foran as its chief executive reflects growing interest by grocers with a U.S. presence in appointing top-level executives who have spent time working outside the country, either for food retailers or other types of companies.
In June, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize nominated former Amazon executive Claire Peters to be CEO of its U.S. division. Peters had overseen Amazon’s fresh operations in North America and overseas and, like Foran, she spent time at Woolworths. Peters also worked at supermarket chain Tesco in the United Kingdom and in Thailand.
Peters is slated to replace former Ahold Delhaize USA CEO JJ Fleeman, who left in June after 36 years with the grocer and will become CEO of Dollar General at the start of 2027.
Before bringing on Foran, Kroger brought on David Kennerley, who had most recently served as former senior vice president and CFO of PepsiCo Europe, as its finance chief in April 2025. Kennerley filled a role that had been held by Gary Millerchip, who worked for Scottish bank NatWest Group before moving to Kroger. Millerchip left Kroger in February 2024 and became CFO of Costco the following month.
Last month, Kroger named Emilee De Martino, who formerly oversaw McDonald’s human resources operations in markets outside the U.S., as executive vice president and chief people officer.
Other grocers that have high-level executives with international experience include Sprouts Farmers Market, whose CEO, Jack Sinclair, spent 14 years overseeing operations, merchandising and marketing for more than 450 Safeway supermarket and convenience store locations in the U.K.
David Hinojosa, who became CEO of Hispanic grocery store operator Heritage Grocers Group in March, has experience serving as executive vice president at Australian food wholesaler Metcash and chief operating officer at Thai grocer Makro.
In addition, new Lidl US CEO Alan Barry, who arrived in July, formerly worked for Lidl in Ireland and Great Britain. His newly appointed lieutenants include a chief operating officer and chief customer officer who worked for Lidl in Great Britain and France.
Hamory said U.S. grocers stand to benefit from tapping top-level executives with European experience because they bring knowledge that stems from navigating markets that are often hyper-competitive. For instance, he noted that grocery stores in the U.K. began offering ready-to-cook meals that are not frozen years before U.S. grocers.
“I’ve long thought, having worked heavily in grocery in the U.S., the U.K. and continental Europe, that Europe in general — and the U.K. in particular — always seem to be 10 years or so ahead of the U.S. in terms of management approaches,” said Hamory.
