David B. Dillon
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Kroger Co.
Dave Dillon, Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Kroger Co., grew up in the supermarket
business.
The great-grandson of Dillons Company founder J.S. Dillon, he joined Dillons after earning a bachelor’s
degree in Business at the University of Kansas and a law degree at Southern Methodist University.
He joined Hutchinson, KS-based Dillons as a management trainee in 1976 with its King Soopers division
in Denver. He went on to serve in various leadership positions with Fry’s Food Stores, from 1977 –
1983, including vice president for merchandising and warehousing. He credits Chuck Fry for mentoring
him and revealing the art of merchandising during these formative years.
Dillon Companies and The Kroger Co. merged in 1983. From 1983 – 1986, Dave served as vice
president of Dillons, and from 1986 – 1995, he served as president of Dillons. He was appointed
executive vice president of The Kroger Co. in 1990.
Dave was elected president and chief operating officer of Kroger in 1995. Dave was president during
Kroger’s successful, $13 billion merger with Fred Meyer Inc. in 1999, which created the nation’s largest
supermarket company and grew Kroger’s food store base by more than 50 percent.
Dave was named CEO of Kroger in 2003 and was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2004.
As chairman and CEO, Dave and Rodney McMullen, then Vice Chair, led the Kroger leadership team’s
development of the Customer 1st Strategy, which truly puts the customer at the center of how Kroger’s
business is run. The strategy focuses on Four Keys that enhance Kroger’s connection with customers –
people, products, prices and the shopping experience.
As part of the Customer 1st Strategy, Dave and Rodney had the foresight to create and execute a longterm price investment strategy that enables Kroger to deliver sustainable business growth and
shareholder returns, while also saving customers nearly $3 billion annually through lower prices. In
2006, Kroger reinstated a dividend and has paid shareholders $1.8 billion since then.
Kroger’s Customer 1st Strategy has deepened customer loyalty and resulted in 39 consecutive quarters
– nearly 10 years – of positive identical store sales growth. Since Dave became CEO in 2003, Kroger
has grown revenue $45 billion, created 53,000 new jobs, reduced costs for 8 consecutive years, and
returned $9.2 billion to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.
Kroger has also become a leader in supermarket sustainability under Dave’s leadership. The company
has reduced energy consumption in stores by 33 percent since 2000 and reduced its carbon footprint
by 4.4 percent since 2006. More than half of the company’s 37 manufacturing facilities are zero waste.
Kroger’s efforts to feed families struggling with hunger have grown to total contributions of 250 million
meals – 4 million meals per week – in 2012.
Dave retired as CEO at the end of 2013 and will remain Chairman through the end of 2014.
Dave is a member of the board of directors of DIRECTV. He serves on the Board of Trustees for the
University of Cincinnati Foundation, the Board of Trustees for the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati,
the Board of Trustees for the University of Kansas Endowment, and the Board of Directors for Catalyst.
He is a former member of the board of directors for Bethesda, Inc. He also serves on the Board of
Directors of the Consumer Goods Forum and on the board of the Food Marketing Institute.
An Eagle Scout like his father and son, Dave received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2012 for
distinguishing himself in his life’s work after 25 years. Dave has been married to
Dee for 40 years. They currently reside in Cincinnati, and have three grown children
and six grandchildren.
2003-2013
GROWTH HIGHLIGHTS
OPERATIONS:
39 CONSECUTIVE
QUARTERS OF POSITIVE
ID SALES GROWTH
$45B SALES GROWTH
53,000 NEW JOBS
CORPORATE BRANDS :
PRIVATE SELECTION
BECAME BILLION
DOLLAR BRAND IN 2008
SHAREHOLDER VALUE :
159% TOTAL
SHAREHOLDER RETURN
$7.4 BILLION IN
SHARE REPURCHASES
PAID $1.8 BILLION
IN DIVIDENDS
SINCE REINSTATING
THEM IN 2006
COMMUNITY:
IN 2011, KROGER WAS
RECOGNIZED BY FORBES
MAGAZINE AS THE
MOST GENEROUS
COMPANY IN AMERICA