Rod Antolock, president of Harris Teeter, will retire on February 1 and will be replaced by veteran industry executive Tammy DeBoer. DeBoer is currently senior VP-merchandising, operations, and marketing for the retailer. She joined the Matthews, NC-based division of Kroger in September 2020.
“Rod’s leadership has been instrumental to the growth and success of Harris Teeter for more than two decades. His commitment to customer service and quality will continue to guide Harris Teeter into the future,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO.
Antolock joined Harris Teeter in 2000, and he has served in numerous executive positions, including senior VP-operations which was later expanded to senior VP-operations and merchandising. Antolock was promoted to executive VP in 2012, when he led several teams, including merchandising, operations, marketing, human resources, loss prevention, store development, quality assurance, distribution, and manufacturing. He was named president of Harris Teeter in 2015 replacing Fred Morganthall, who had been Harris Teeter’s president since 1997. At that time, Morganthall was promoted to become senior VP of retail divisions for parent company Kroger. Prior to joining Harris Teeter, Antolock served in various leadership roles for the Albertsons Companies between 1978 and 2000.
During his time with Harris Teeter, Antolock led the development of the company’s “Service Excellence” customer engagement model and introduced new ways of operating, including a new urban upscale model, expanded store format and a model store walk concept. Under his leadership, Harris Teeter also expanded into multiple new geographies, including Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland and Delaware.
In his retirement, Antolock and his wife look forward to traveling and spending time at their lake house.
DeBoer has more than 25 years of retail experience under her belt, primarily in merchandising. She joined Harris Teeter 14 months ago to supervise operations, merchandising, and marketing and to oversee the company’s 258 stores across seven states and Washington, DC. Previously, DeBoer served as executive VP-chief merchandising officer of Family Dollar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dollar Tree, Inc. Prior to joining Family Dollar, she spent 19 years with Delhaize America (Food Lion, Bloom) where she held various leadership roles in merchandising and operations and led the company through acquisitions and introduction of pilot stores. DeBoer also served a brief stint with Giant Food as VP-sales.
“Tammy is a seasoned veteran of the retail industry. Her broad and deep experience, including brand transformation, merchandising, operations, and more, make her a true asset to Harris Teeter and the leading choice to assume the role of president,” said Mary Ellen Adcock, Kroger’s senior VP-operations.