Kroger Promotes Hjelm to Lead New Data Division

In the US, grocery giant The Kroger Co. has added to the responsibilities of its CIO Chris Hjelm, naming him EVP and putting him in overall charge of its recently launched data division, 84.51 degrees.

Hjelm joined Kroger in 2005, and also retains leadership of Kroger Technology, the firm's R&D, and its customer connect and support centers.

The appointment is one of four new EVP roles, the others being Mike Donnelly (Merchandising); Fred Morganthall (Retail Operations); and Mike Schlotman (EVP and CFO).

The new division was formed in April when the company announced the dissolution of its dunnhumbyUSA joint venture with Tesco-owned retail analytics pioneer dunnhumby. The new agency is wholly owned by Kroger, uses dunnhumby's tools under licence, and employs around 500 people.

Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said of the senior promotions: 'Kroger is fortunate to have an exceptionally strong group of leaders across our company. Our entire senior leadership team brings unmatched depth and experience to achieve our goals. This new organizational structure will help Kroger achieve laser-focus to accelerate growth, improve our connection with customers and deliver value for shareholders'.

Kroger employs nearly 400,000 associates in 2,626 supermarkets and multi-department stores covering around two thirds of US states; and also operates around 2,500 other outlets including 780 convenience stories and 1,342 supermarket fuel centers. The company says it has data on the grocery preferences of 56 million households over 18 years, and stresses that its analysis for third parties uses aggregated, anonymised data.