Dive Brief:

• Michael Ellis, a 38-year veteran of Kroger, will assume the roles of president and chief operating officer on Jan. 1.
• In his current role Elllis as senior vice president for the retail divisions, he oversees five supermarket divisions, the convenience store division and Kroger's jewelry business.
• As announced in January, CEO David Dillon is retiring, and existing president and COO Rodney McMullen will take the top slot of the Cincinnati-based retailer.

Dive Insight:

This is probably as seamless and uneventful a succession plan as you're likely to see in American business. A long-time employee gets promoted in a steady progression to president of the company, trailing just behind another veteran who held similar roles and now takes the top job. Transitions like this can lend an air of stability in difficult times -- and that's something that many companies could learn from. On the other hand, succession plans like this leave little room for innovation and new thinking in the C-suite. Here's hoping that Kroger doesn't need much of that right now.