Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health, will retire after 31 years with The Kroger Co., the company announced Sept. 25.
Lindholz joined Kroger in 1995 as a pharmacist in the Cincinnati-Dayton division, where she held several pharmacy roles, including manager, coordinator, sales promoter, recruiter and merchandiser. She was promoted to director of pharmacy sales and marketing in 2013 and to president and CEO of The Little Clinic in 2015. She was named president of Kroger Health in 2017.
During her time at Kroger, Lindholz has been credited as the architect of the company’s Food as Medicine strategy and with creating the Nourishing Change movement.
“Colleen is truly passionate about improving the health of communities across America,” said Mary Ellen Adcock, Kroger’s chief marketing and merchandising officer. “Throughout her career, she championed ways to help families live healthier lives by eating better-for-them foods. We appreciate her contributions to Kroger throughout her career and wish Colleen and her family well in this next chapter.”
Lindholz is a recipient of Kroger’s Chairman’s Award and the Kroger Leadership Award. The Break the Ceiling Women in Leadership Summit recognized her as one of the “Most Inspirational Female Leaders of the Year” in 2018, and Mass Market Research named her one of the “Most Influential Women in Retailing” in 2020. She also was recognized as one of Modern Healthcare’s top women leaders in 2023 and as an MMR Influential Woman in 2024 and 2025.
Under her leadership, Kroger Health was named Mass Market Retailer’s 2022 Retailer of the Year, and the Kroger Family of Pharmacies was recognized as a Forbes Best Customer Service Company.
Lindholz served as chair of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. She is executive chair of AHA’s Heart Mini and chair of the Easterseals Redwood Board of Directors of Greater Cincinnati.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati.