Last updated on December 12th, 2024
The Fred Meyer Division has announced recent company promotions in its executive team.
Kendra Doyel, formerly VP of merchandising for Ralphs, has been named as VP of merchandising for the Fred Meyer division, effective Sept. 12. Doyel will report to Todd Kammeyer, incoming president of the Fred Meyer division. She joined the company in 1998 as a pharmacist in the Fry’s division. Since then, Doyel has held various roles in the company, such as pharmacy coordinator, director of public relations for Fry’s division, public affairs and governmental relations leader and HR leader for Ralphs and Food 4 Less.
Ricky Piedrahita, previously senior director, enterprise sourcing-category profit improvement, national brand center store, has been named VP of enterprise sourcing and direct sourcing, effective Sept. 1. He will report to Ryan Verbecken, VP and chief procurement officer. In this role, Piedrahita will lead the sourcing organizations responsible for a direct expenditure for the company. Piedrahita joined Kroger in 2019 as senior director, special projects to create and lead retail procurement alliance.
Previously serving as VP of enterprise sourcing, Verbecken has been promoted to VP and chief procurement officer, effective immediately. In his new role, Verbecken will continue to expand responsibility for all sourcing, contracting and procurement activities for The Kroger Co. across all areas of “good for resale” and “goods not for resale.” He joined Kroger in 2003 as a sourcing manager within facilities engineering. Over the course of his career with The Kroger Co., Verbecken has led various areas of sourcing, including operations, direct and indirect spend.
Josh Earley, formerly senior manager of enterprise sourcing, has been named director of sourcing transformation and new initiatives. He will continue to report to Verbecken, VP and chief procurement officer. In this role, Earley will lead efforts to identify and drive incremental net new opportunities, drive and support the business case development for transformation initiatives that improve organizational and financial effectiveness and to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
Previously serving as group product designer, Anna Grote has been promoted to director of merchandising experience product design for Kroger Technology and Digital. Grote will report to Chris Fladung, VP of product experience for KTD. In this role, she will be responsible for leading the merchandising price and promotion product portfolio and merchandising experience horizontals to advance an experience rooted in user needs and business value. Grote joined Kroger in 2019, holding several product design leadership roles across KTD.
Robert Michaels, previously group product manager, has been promoted to merchandising experience strategic and planning product director for KTD. He will report to Fladung, VP of product experience for KTD. Michaels joined Kroger in 2020 as senior manager, product management, where he led promotion and promotion execution engine for merchandising experience.
Paul Pridemore, formerly senior manager of network strategy and enablers, has been promoted to director of network strategy and enablers. In this role, Pridemore will lead the development and execution of a strategic roadmap of projects that evolves Kroger’s freight management, fleet design and transportation optimization capabilities. He reports to Raul Bukalil, VP of network strategy and enablers.
For more information, visit fredmeyer.com.
