Jerry Clontz has been named the president of Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic division, replacing Joe Fey, who has retired after 44 years with the company.
Clontz joined Harris Teeter in 1971 as a bagger in Marion, NC. He has held various positions of increasing responsibility, including store manager, store director, district manager, and regional director. In 1997, He was named regional vice president and was instrumental in Harris Teeter’s entry in to the highly-competitive Washington, DC market, which included Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, southern Maryland and coastal Delaware. He was named regional VP in 2007.
“Jerry is a proven leader who is passionate about this business and the success of his associates,” said Sukanya Madlinger, Kroger’s senior vice president of retail divisions. “Jerry has a strong track record of success as a leader at Harris Teeter and we look forward to his contributions in our Mid-Atlantic division.”
Fey began his career as a meat clerk with Kroger in 1972 while earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Indiana University. He was quickly promoted to a variety of leadership positions including store management, deli/bakery merchandising, and meat/seafood merchandising in both the company’s Central division and corporate office in Cincinnati. In 1999, he was named vice president of merchandising for the Dillons division, and in 2008 was named vice president of merchandising for the Michigan division. In 2011, he was promoted to president of the QFC division. He was named Mid-Atlantic division president in 2014.
“Joe has accomplished much in his distinguished career spanning several supermarket divisions and Kroger’s corporate office,” said Fred Morganthall, Kroger’s executive vice president of retail operations. “Joe is a true leader who exemplifies our values and focuses on doing what is best for our associates, customers and company. The people he has developed throughout his career will continue his legacy for many years. The entire Kroger family thanks Joe for his many contributions and wishes him and his family all the best in retirement.”